This study was carried out at the laboratory of Food Science Department,
Faculty of Agriculture, Damascus University in order to evaluate physical,
chemical and microbial properties of Akkawi cheese in Syria. Thirty samples of
Akkawi Cheese collec
ted randomly from different Syrian cities and urban
markets during 2011 were analyzed. Chemical and microbiological analyses
were applied to determine their suitability to the Syrian standards. Results
showed that the quality of cheese samples did not fulfill the set minimum
Syrian quality standards and the proportion of the violation of the Syrian
specification for total dry matter in cheese samples studied was nearly 10%,
and 100% for sodium chloride. The study also demonstrated differences in
chemical properties, with an average of acidity, moisture content 0.34 %, 53.9
% respectively. The fat content had a wide range for all cheese samples. On the
other hand, the proportion of health violation for this type of cheese from the
Syrian standard was 73.3 % for Coliform bacteria and 56.6 % for the E. coli.
but they were acceptable for the existence and account of Staphylococcus
aureus , Salmonella and Listeria.
