Traditional Wooden Equipment Used for Cheesemaking and Their Effect on Quality

This chapter reviews scientific research showing that wood offers greater or at least not lower than cleaning guarantees, plastic and stainless steel. Wood in contact with raw milk and cheeses is rapidly covered by a microbial biofilm. In several studies, the researchers showed a high biodiversity of microorganisms present in biofilms not only between the different types of cheeses studied, but also within the same cheese variety, between different wooden vats (tina or gerle) used in different cheese plants. The biodiversity confirms and demonstrates the strong characterisation of the territorial origin of the products. The correct maintenance of wooden vats promotes the selection of a microbial flora able to play an active role in the achievement of the food safety objectives through the biocompetitive activity of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and the inhibitory activity against pathogenic bacteria, particularly Listeria monocytogenes.