Free fatty acid accumulation by mesophilic lactic acid bacteria in cold-stored milk.

This study was aimed to determine the accumulation of free fatty acid by mesophilic lactic acid bacteria (Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis 1471, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris 1000 and Lactobacillus casei 111) in cold-stored milk. According to the results, all cold-stored milks had higher acid degree values than those of fresh milk. This phenomenon showed that a slight increase occurred in the accumulation of free fatty acids as a result of spontaneous lipolysis during cold storage. All lactic acid bacteria showed good performance in production of titratable acidity, which increased during fermentation of the milk (fresh and stored milks). Moreover, as the storage time was prolonged, more free fatty acid accumulation was obtained from the fermentation of the cold-stored milk by the investigated lactic acid bacteria. The control milk, which was without lactic acid bacteria, showed no change in the accumulation of free fatty acid during fermentation. From this result, it can be suggested that longer cold-storage time can induce higher free fatty acid accumulation in milk by lactic acid bacteria.