Quantification and recovery percentage of lutein added in the manufacture of spherical Prato cheese

Abstract

The manufacturing of spherical Prato cheese with lutein, a yellow dye, with beneficial health attributes, can be an alternative for the prevention of age-related diseases such as macular degeneration and cataracts. The aim of this study was to manufacture the cheese using milk enriched with lutein in 2 different concentrations and to study its partition between whey and cheese during manufacture. The percentage retention of lutein in cheese for both the highest concentration of lutein used (treatment 32 mg/L), and for the lowest concentration (16 mg/L) was approximately 30%, demonstrating that most of lutein added to milk is lost in the whey during the cheese manufacturing. To reach the minimum daily serving of 6mg
of lutein in a cheese slice, ie, the minimum amount necessary to prevent macular degeneration, it is necessary that consumers ingest about 100 grams of cheese treatment 32 mg/L or 185g of cheese treatment 16 mg/L. Future research should be
conducted in order to increase the percentage of retention of l utein in cheese.