Describing the Fate of Autochthonous Lactic Acid Bacteria in Artisanal Goat’s Raw Milk Cheeses during Storage: An Omnibus Modelling Approach

: Artisanal fermented products constitute a worthwhile source of autochthonous lactic acid bacteria (LAB) with biopreservative, technological and organoleptic potential. This study aimed to characterize the fate of autochthonous LAB in artisanal goat’s raw milk fresh cheeses at different temperatures by using an omnibus (one-step) modeling strategy. Lab-scale cheese prototypes (10 g) were artisanally elaborated from goat’s raw milk and stored at 4, 12, 18 and 25 ◦ C. LAB were enumerated (ISO:15214) during cheeses shelf-life. Growth models were fitted to the data, producing maximum growth rates averaging 0.345 ± 0.162 and 3.338 ± 0.907 ln CFU/g/d at 4 and 25 ◦ C, respectively, and population increases averaged 3.388 ± 0.203 and 7.877 ± 1.480 ln CFU/g. The omnibus modeling approach allowed for the definition of a general model that describes autochthonous LAB growth with a correlation coefficient of 0.991 between experimental and estimated data. These results contribute to the better understanding of autochthonous LAB in artisanal cheeses for their further use as potential new-generation biopreservatives.