Exploring the Potential of Halloumi Second Cheese Whey for the Production of Lactic Acid Cultures for the Dairy Industry

Production of halloumi cheese in Cyprus has increased rapidly over the last decade since popularity is growing. This results excess production whey streams that pose serious environmental concerns and are difficult to manage. In our study, poorly investigated second (SCW) generated after extraction anari, a by-product manufacture, was examined for dairy industry lactic acid bacteria (LAB) culture production. The LAB studied were all initially isolated from SCW. These molecularly identified characterized an attempt explore their potential use as starter cultures industry. A total 11 Gram-positive catalase-negative isolates identified, belonging four different species/subspecies: Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis, jakobsenii, leichmannii crispatus. Lactose/galactose utilization tests demonstrated species-specific differences galactose lactose catabolism. Interestingly, culturing selected SCW supplemented with skimmed milk (30% solids) improved freeze-drying tolerance (75–91% survival rate depending on species). Moreover, vacuum-packed powders maintained viability metabolic activity 3-month storage at 4 °C.