Modified Atmosphere Packaged Cheddar Cheese Shreds: How Light and Gas Type Influence Color and Volatile Compounds

For convenience, many cheese varieties, including Cheddar, are available preshredded in translucent modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). Although flavor development in traditional Cheddar cheese has been well documented (Christensen and Reineccius, 1995; Dunn and Lindsay, 1985; Engels and Visser, 1994; Fox et al., 1995; Manning, 1978; Urbach, 1995), little is known about the flavor chemistry of shredded cheese. Since both processing and storage of shredded cheese differ greatly from traditional cheese, it is likely that flavor and color are affected. For example, look at the major differences in the ripening process of shredded cheese—traditional block cheese ripens in the dark under regular atmospheric conditions, while shredded cheese, with a significantly increased surface area, ripens under altered gas atmospheres and high intensity fluorescent light.