Comparative evaluation of cheese whey microbial composition from four Italian cheese factories by viable counts and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing

The microbiota of cheese whey from four dairy companies located in the North-East of Italy was evaluated during winter and spring using both culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. Although no significant differences were observed (p > 0.05) for any of the six microbial categories analysed by plate counting among the dairy companies, significant differences at the family and genus level were revealed by linear discriminant analysis (LDA). In particular, variations in the abundance of the families Pseudomonadaceae and Enterobacteriaceae, as well as of the genus Acinetobacter were observed and positively correlated with plate count results (p < 0.05). The combined use of culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches gave a better description of the hygienic conditions and food safety aspects and could therefore be suggested as a useful integrated approach. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd