{"id":822,"date":"2026-05-21T11:00:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T10:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/?p=822"},"modified":"2026-05-27T11:28:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T10:28:08","slug":"could-artisan-cheeses-that-please-ease-diseases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/could-artisan-cheeses-that-please-ease-diseases\/","title":{"rendered":"Could artisan cheeses that please ease diseases?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blessed are the tiny cheesemakers: scientists have mapped out the bacteria responsible for giving three British cheeses their<\/span>\u00a0distinct<\/span>\u00a0flavour, which may also be beneficial to human health.<\/span><\/p>\n

Scientists in the Food Microbial Sciences Unit at the\u00a0<\/span>University of Reading<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>identified\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>microbia<\/span>l<\/span>\u00a0and biochemi<\/span>cal profile<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0of three artisan cheeses made\u00a0<\/span>locally\u00a0<\/span>in Oxfordshire across their maturation process, and found that the\u00a0<\/span>bacteria<\/span>\u00a0responsible for a cheese\u2019s character could also\u00a0benefit\u00a0the people who eat it.<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0<\/span>study, published in\u00a0<\/span>ACS Food Science & Technology<\/span><\/a>, examined three\u00a0<\/span>cheese\u00a0<\/span>varieties produced by Nettlebed Creamery in Oxfordshire: a soft white-rind cheese aged for just over a week; a washed-rind semi-soft cheese that takes several weeks to reach maturity; and a semi-hard cheese aged in hay for around nine months.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lead author Sabrina Longley, a PhD researcher in the\u00a0<\/span>Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences,\u00a0said:\u00a0\u201c<\/span>“<\/span>Good cheese is delicious, and the artisan varieties\u00a0we\u00a0studied\u00a0are full of microbial life that could\u00a0have benefits to\u00a0your\u00a0gut\u00a0health.<\/span><\/p>\n

“<\/span>The ageing process creates more complex aromas and textures through the work of an army of helpful bacteria. The matrix of fats and proteins in the cheese may also help protect the bacteria as they travel\u00a0<\/span>along<\/span>\u00a0the digestive tract<\/span>, making cheese an excellent vehicle for delivery of probiotics to the gut<\/span>.<\/span>“<\/span><\/p>\n

Samples were taken at different stages of cheese maturing process and analysed for their bacterial populations and chemical composition.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\" All three cheeses\u00a0<\/span>contained<\/span>\u00a0bacteria with\u00a0<\/span>recognised<\/span> probiotic potential, which can add to populations of beneficial bacteria in the gut. <\/span><\/span>Streptococcus thermophilus<\/span>, also used as a yogurt starter, remained dominant in the semi-soft and harder cheeses right through to maturity, while\u00a0<\/span>Lactococcus lactis<\/span>\u00a0was present throughout all three cheeses. <\/span>The washed-rind cheese and hay-aged<\/span>\u00a0cheese also\u00a0<\/span>contained<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Propionibacterium\u00a0<\/span>freudenreichii<\/span><\/span>, which produces propionic acid, a compound associated with anti-inflammatory properties<\/span>, reduction of cholesterol synthesis,<\/span><\/span> and appetite regulation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bioactive<\/span><\/span>\u00a0potential<\/span><\/h3>\n

For cheese lovers who eat the rind, there may be\u00a0particular\u00a0reason to do so. The white\u00a0mould\u00a0<\/span>Penicillium\u00a0candidum,<\/span>\u00a0used to form the distinctive rind in the soft cheese studied, produces chitin, a dietary\u00a0fibre\u00a0that may act as a prebiotic. This is food for other beneficial gut bacteria, which can stimulate beneficial changes in the gut microbiota.<\/span><\/p>\n

The process of ageing the harder cheese in hay, meanwhile, appeared to increase the diversity of bacterial species present in the cheese as it matured, with\u00a0nearly four\u00a0times as many species found in the mature cheese, compared to the same cheese earlier in the process.<\/span><\/p>\n

The researchers found that lactose, the sugar found in cow\u2019s milk that some people struggle to digest, was\u00a0almost entirely\u00a0absent from all three cheeses by the time they reached maturity, having been broken down by lactic acid bacteria during the fermentation process.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sabrina Longley\u00a0<\/span>is<\/span>\u00a0a cheesemaker\u00a0<\/span>at the independent Nettlebed Creamery in Oxfordshire, which part-funded the research. She\u00a0<\/span>i<\/span>s be<\/span>ing<\/span>\u00a0supported to conduct her PhD research part-time with a University of Reading regional bursary, a scheme helping people from the local area\u00a0<\/span>to\u00a0<\/span>undertake research stud<\/span>ies<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The authors note that further research\u00a0<\/span>(<\/span>dietary intervention trials<\/span>)\u00a0<\/span>is needed to confirm how bacterial populations\u00a0<\/span>in the\u00a0<\/span>gut microbiota\u00a0<\/span>behave and change\u00a0<\/span>after being consumed<\/span>, and\u00a0<\/span>their\u00a0<\/span>overall effects on\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>human\u00a0<\/span>system<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Notes to editors:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sabrina Longley is available for\u00a0<\/span><\/span>interview<\/span><\/span><\/span>. Contact the University of Reading P<\/span><\/span>ress Office on 0118 378 5757 or to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>pressoffice@reading.ac.uk<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span>\u00a0arrange.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A human intervention trial is currently underway exploring the potential of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>hay-aged cheese to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>modulate the gut microbiome in a way that could\u00a0<\/span><\/span>reduce cholesterol<\/span><\/span>;<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>if<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0you are interested in\u00a0<\/span><\/span>participating<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0please contact s.i.c.longley@pgr.reading.ac.uk<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Full reference:<\/span><\/p>\n

Sabrina Longley, Glenn Gibson, and Anisha Wijeyesekera (2026),\u00a0<\/span>Microbial and Biochemical Characterization of Three Artisan British Cheeses throughout the Maturation Process<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>ACS Food Science & Technology<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>DOI: 10.1021\/acsfoodscitech.5c01243<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blessed are the tiny cheesemakers: scientists have mapped out the bacteria responsible for giving three British cheeses their\u00a0distinct\u00a0flavour, which may also be beneficial to human health. Scientists in the Food…Read More ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1187,"featured_media":791,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"coauthors":[18],"class_list":["post-822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCould artisan cheeses that please ease diseases? - Agrifood Futures<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/could-artisan-cheeses-that-please-ease-diseases\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Could artisan cheeses that please ease diseases? - Agrifood Futures\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Blessed are the tiny cheesemakers: scientists have mapped out the bacteria responsible for giving three British cheeses their\u00a0distinct\u00a0flavour, which may also be beneficial to human health. Scientists in the Food...Read More >\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/could-artisan-cheeses-that-please-ease-diseases\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Agrifood Futures\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-21T10:00:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-27T10:28:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/352\/2026\/05\/Cheese-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"320\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"185\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elisha Bird\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elisha Bird\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/could-artisan-cheeses-that-please-ease-diseases\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/could-artisan-cheeses-that-please-ease-diseases\/\",\"name\":\"Could artisan cheeses that please ease diseases? - Agrifood Futures\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-21T10:00:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-27T10:28:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/#\/schema\/person\/d684f9efe3d36e28371aed114b8d253a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/could-artisan-cheeses-that-please-ease-diseases\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/could-artisan-cheeses-that-please-ease-diseases\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/could-artisan-cheeses-that-please-ease-diseases\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Could artisan cheeses that please ease diseases?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/\",\"name\":\"Agrifood Futures\",\"description\":\"Research leadership for global food system transformation\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/#\/schema\/person\/d684f9efe3d36e28371aed114b8d253a\",\"name\":\"Elisha Bird\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/b5c520d5ad829d0422a0e8c609974132\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7bd2274aeb21bc60f6eac9c74ad86fad425ac87e5df1e1d10732fa6c2d33a895?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7bd2274aeb21bc60f6eac9c74ad86fad425ac87e5df1e1d10732fa6c2d33a895?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elisha Bird\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/author\/fn926380reading-ac-uk\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Could artisan cheeses that please ease diseases? - Agrifood Futures","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/could-artisan-cheeses-that-please-ease-diseases\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Could artisan cheeses that please ease diseases? - Agrifood Futures","og_description":"Blessed are the tiny cheesemakers: scientists have mapped out the bacteria responsible for giving three British cheeses their\u00a0distinct\u00a0flavour, which may also be beneficial to human health. Scientists in the Food...Read More >","og_url":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/could-artisan-cheeses-that-please-ease-diseases\/","og_site_name":"Agrifood Futures","article_published_time":"2026-05-21T10:00:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-05-27T10:28:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":320,"height":185,"url":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/352\/2026\/05\/Cheese-1.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Elisha Bird","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elisha Bird","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/could-artisan-cheeses-that-please-ease-diseases\/","url":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/could-artisan-cheeses-that-please-ease-diseases\/","name":"Could artisan cheeses that please ease diseases? - Agrifood Futures","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-05-21T10:00:37+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-27T10:28:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/#\/schema\/person\/d684f9efe3d36e28371aed114b8d253a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/could-artisan-cheeses-that-please-ease-diseases\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/could-artisan-cheeses-that-please-ease-diseases\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/could-artisan-cheeses-that-please-ease-diseases\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Could artisan cheeses that please ease diseases?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/#website","url":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/","name":"Agrifood Futures","description":"Research leadership for global food system transformation","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/#\/schema\/person\/d684f9efe3d36e28371aed114b8d253a","name":"Elisha Bird","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/b5c520d5ad829d0422a0e8c609974132","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7bd2274aeb21bc60f6eac9c74ad86fad425ac87e5df1e1d10732fa6c2d33a895?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7bd2274aeb21bc60f6eac9c74ad86fad425ac87e5df1e1d10732fa6c2d33a895?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elisha Bird"},"url":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/author\/fn926380reading-ac-uk\/"}]}},"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"","source_text":"","source_url":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1187"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=822"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":826,"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822\/revisions\/826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=822"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}