| Summary: | BACKGROUND: Raw ewe’s milk, used to manufacture Serra da Estrela Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) cheese, was pre-treated by high pressure processing (HPP), using previously optimized conditions (121 MPa/30 min), in order to evaluate its effect on milk technological properties for subsequent cheese production, namely the impact on resulting curd, whey, and cheese throughout ripening. RESULTS: The cheese yield increase 10.4% as a result of milk pre-treated by HPP, which also yielded inactivation of beneficial microbial groups. After 60 days of ripening, both treated and control cheeses showed neither significant differences (P ≥ 0.05) in quantified microbial load nor in basic physicochemical quality parameters. CONCLUSION: HPP seems to be a promising non-thermal treatment for ewes’ milk to inactivate contaminant bacteria yet with no negative effect on lactic acid bacteria, which are very important for the unique characteristics of Serra da Estrela cheese.
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