Elemental profile of traditional, commercially available Greek cheeses

Greece produces significant quantities of cheeses that do not hold any designation such as Protected Designation of Origin. The elemental profile of these Greek cheeses was determined. The collection scheme aimed to represent cheeses not assigned to any designation category, originating from both islands and mainland of Greece, manufactured from different milk types as well as various manufacturing procedures. A total of 102 cheeses were purchased from the market, classified into hard, semi-hard, soft, spread, and whey cheeses, and analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Nutritional values of the cheeses were calculated based on the concentration of selected essential elements namely Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Se and Zn. The findings of the study indicate that examined cheeses can be regarded as safe, given their low levels in analyzed heavy metals, and on the other hand, they cover a considerable percentage of the dietary recommended intake for elements like Cr and Zn. The results pointed out that discriminant analysis differentiation based on cheese- and milk type is possible. A database regarding the elements of these cheeses was created. The present study attempted to promote less known local cheeses to Greek and European consumers.