A Novel Organism Lactobacillus wasatchensis: Growth, Detection, Gassing Defects in Cheese, Control Strategy and Future Research Opportunities: A Review

An obligate heterofermentative, Lactobacillus wasatchensis has been recently isolated from an aged Cheddar cheese produced in Logan, Utah. The potential of this organism in causing gassing defects in aged cheese has raised concern among cheese manufacturers. The recent attention on this organism is attributed to its economic impact due to low-quality cheese. This comprehensive review provides the details about Lb.wasatchensis characteristics, geographical distribution and effect of various physical and chemical factors such as heat treatment, carbohydrate utilization, pH, salt tolerance and growth temperature. Lb. wasatchensis utilize ribose as a primary source for its growth, however, it can slowly utilize galactose resulting in gas generation. The details of testing methods along with suggestions for future research on improving these techniques using a phage as a selective medium are provided in this review. Recent research developments for controlling the growth of Lb. wasatchensis, as well as potential research opportunities are summarized in this review.