An innovative alternative to reduce sodium in cheese: Babassu coconut byproduct improving quality and shelf-life of reduced‑sodium Minas fresh cheese

Fresh cheese is widely consumed worldwide, and sodium chloride (NaCl) is a food additive/preservative commonly used in cheesemaking due to its effect on flavor, texture, and its ability to regulate osmolarity, inducing antimicrobial activity, ensuring shelf-life. Once high sodium consumption is linked to cardiovascular diseases, the leading cause of death globally, unhealthy diets constitute a major public health. Thus, mean sodium intake must be reduced. However, a simple reduction of salt in cheesemaking can negatively impact the quality and safety of final product. To overcome such challenge, we proposed antimicrobial babassu (Attalea speciosa) mesocarp extract (BME) as an alternative to ensure quality and microbial safety in reduced‑sodium Minas Fresh Cheese (MFC), a traditional Brazilian dairy product. This work investigated the effects of incorporating 7% (v/w) BME in MFC with normal (1.5% w/w) and reduced (0.75% w/w) NaCl content. Comprehensive analyses were assessed in composition, color, texture, antimicrobial properties, lipid oxidation, and phenolic levels. Our findings indicated inclusion of BME in cheese led to notable enhancements in color parameters, texture, and demonstrated superior antimicrobial activity in comparison to cheese without extract. In contrast both high‑sodium and low-sodium cheeses displaying high bacterial counts until final day of storage, BME-incorporated cheeses exhibited a substantial reduction in bacterial counts, showing a superior effect than NaCl in microbial safety. This study suggests BME as a promise and sustainable solution in reduced-sodium cheese, offering to consumers a high-quality product at the same time helping food industry and regulatory agencies with challenges on salt reduction.