Ripening Dynamics of Artisanal and Semi-Industrial Sjenica White Cow Cheese in Brine: An NIR Spectroscopy and PCA Approach

This study evaluated the quality dynamics of artisanal (A) and semi-industrial (S-I) Sjenica white-brined cheese during 60-day ripening and assessed the agreement between a commercial near-infrared (NIR IR) spectroscopy calibration and reference methods for process monitoring. The reference methods showed that cheese type significantly affected proteins (p = 0.002), pH (p = 0.001), titratable acidity (p = 0.001), and fat-in-dry-matter (FDM; p = 0.038). The S-I cheese demonstrated superior hygiene under mandatory HACCP principles (E. coli max 1.73 log CFU/g vs. 3.72 log CFU/g in A). Ripening time significantly altered the color and texture profile analysis (TPA) parameters (p < 0.05). Principal component analysis (PCA) completely discriminated both cheese types at day 60, based on CVS color (86.27% variance) and textural attributes (87.08% variance). Sensory evaluation showed that assessors could discriminate between the two cheese types, while both maintained high overall acceptance. Deming regression and Bland–Altman analysis revealed poor quantitative agreement, with NIR systematically underestimating dry matter (−2.49 g/100 g), fat (−1.88 g/100 g), FDM (−1.80 g/100 g), protein (−1.04 g/100 g), and NaCl (−0.40 g/100 g). Overall, the results demonstrate that the production system significantly affects the physicochemical, microbiological, textural, and color characteristics of Sjenica white-brined cheese during ripening, while both the S-I and A cheeses retain high sensory acceptance.