Chymosin is a protease that curdles the milk casein. Animal rennet was the first discovered source of chymosin and its use is mandatory for the production of PDO cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano. Of the alternatives, fermentation-produced chymosin is the most competitive because it functions in a similar way, but is much cheaper. Analytical tools are necessary in order to distinguish the 2 types of chymosin and verify the compulsory use of animal rennet in the production of PDO cheeses. In this work, a method to analyse 15N/14N in chymosin after extraction was developed. The δ15N values of animal rennet range from 5.7‰ to 8‰, whereas the δ15N values of fermentation-produced chymosin are significantly lower, ranging from −5.3‰ to 2.2‰. A threshold value of 5.7‰ was defined for authentic animal rennet. Addition of fermentation-produced chymosin to animal rennet, or its complete substitution, can be therefore detected.

Camin, F.; Bontempo, L.; Ziller, L.; Franceschi, P.; Molteni, A.; Corbella, R.; Verga, I. (2019). Assessing the authenticity of animal rennet using δ15N analysis of chymosin. FOOD CHEMISTRY, 293: 545-549. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.04.106 handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10449/58225

Assessing the authenticity of animal rennet using δ15N analysis of chymosin

Camin, Federica
Primo
;
Bontempo, Luana;Ziller, Luca;Franceschi, Pietro;
2019-01-01

Abstract

Chymosin is a protease that curdles the milk casein. Animal rennet was the first discovered source of chymosin and its use is mandatory for the production of PDO cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano. Of the alternatives, fermentation-produced chymosin is the most competitive because it functions in a similar way, but is much cheaper. Analytical tools are necessary in order to distinguish the 2 types of chymosin and verify the compulsory use of animal rennet in the production of PDO cheeses. In this work, a method to analyse 15N/14N in chymosin after extraction was developed. The δ15N values of animal rennet range from 5.7‰ to 8‰, whereas the δ15N values of fermentation-produced chymosin are significantly lower, ranging from −5.3‰ to 2.2‰. A threshold value of 5.7‰ was defined for authentic animal rennet. Addition of fermentation-produced chymosin to animal rennet, or its complete substitution, can be therefore detected.
Rennet
Chymosin
PDO cheese
IRMS
δ15N
Settore CHIM/10 - CHIMICA DEGLI ALIMENTI
2019
Camin, F.; Bontempo, L.; Ziller, L.; Franceschi, P.; Molteni, A.; Corbella, R.; Verga, I. (2019). Assessing the authenticity of animal rennet using δ15N analysis of chymosin. FOOD CHEMISTRY, 293: 545-549. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.04.106 handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10449/58225
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10449/58225
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