{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,6]],"date-time":"2026-11-06T04:17:36Z","timestamp":1793938656515,"version":"4.8.0"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,3]],"date-time":"2021-11-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1635897600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004505","name":"University of Catania","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["Programma ricerca di ateneo UNICT 2020-22 linea 2, Project title \u201cSicurNaturBio - Sicurezza e attivit\u00e0 funzionale su sistemi biologici di estratti naturali da impiegare in formulazioni alimentari\u201d."],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Programma ricerca di ateneo UNICT 2020-22 linea 2, Project title \u201cSicurNaturBio - Sicurezza e attivit\u00e0 funzionale su sistemi biologici di estratti naturali da impiegare in formulazioni alimentari\u201d."]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004505","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Pomegranate peel and mesocarp, considered as wastes of fruit processing, are rich sources of beneficial phytochemicals, including hydrolyzable tannins and flavonoids, with proven antimicrobial and antioxidant activity, which can be employed for improving the overall quality of food products. In the present study, extracts from pomegranate peel (PPW) and mesocarp (PMW) were obtained through a water extraction method and evaluated for in vitro antimicrobial activity and polyphenol content. The two extracts were then added during the cheese-making process in order to create a new functional cheese with improved microbiological and physico-chemical characteristics. Antimicrobial in vitro assays evidenced a substantial efficacy of both extracts against Staphylococcus aureus, which often causes staphylococcal food poisoning outbreaks linked to the consumption of raw milk cheeses and artisanal cheeses. For this reason, a simulated cheese contamination was carried out in order to assess if pomegranate extracts can exert antimicrobial activity towards this pathogen even when incorporated into the cheese matrix. Milk enriched with pomegranate extracts (PPW and PMW) was used to produce two different experimental cheeses, which were then evaluated for yield, polyphenol content, and microbiological as well as physico-chemical traits throughout the refrigerated storage. Despite the low concentration of the extracts, the treated cheeses showed an increase in firmness and a slight decrease in S. aureus counts, of more than one log unit in comparison to the control cheese, for up to 12 d of cold storage. Such results support the reuse of agro-food byproducts, in substitution to chemical food preservatives, as the key to a circular economy.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods10112669","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,3]],"date-time":"2021-11-03T17:59:38Z","timestamp":1635962378000},"page":"2669","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":25,"title":["Pomegranate Byproduct Extracts as Ingredients for Producing Experimental Cheese with Enhanced Microbiological, Functional, and Physical Characteristics"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"given":"Lucia","family":"Parafati","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Di3A, Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, University of Catania, via S. Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7485-2378","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fabiola","family":"Pesce","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Di3A, Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, University of Catania, via S. Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3771-3138","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Laura","family":"Siracusa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CNR-ICB, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche-Istituto di Chimica Biomolecolare, via Paolo Gaifami 18, 95126 Catania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2678-9110","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Biagio","family":"Fallico","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Di3A, Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, University of Catania, via S. Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6272-7967","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cristina","family":"Restuccia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Di3A, Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, University of Catania, via S. Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7660-5781","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rosa","family":"Palmeri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Di3A, Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, University of Catania, via S. Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2915","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.2017-13815","article-title":"Short communication: Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus isolated along the raw milk cheese production process in artisan dairies in Italy","volume":"101","author":"Johler","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1353","DOI":"10.4315\/0362-028X.JFP-10-533","article-title":"Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from raw milk utilized in small-scale artisan cheese production","volume":"74","author":"Donnelly","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Food Prot."},{"key":"#cr-split#-ref_3.1","unstructured":"(2008). 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