| aw |
Water activity |
An index of the availability of water in a food for microbial growth |
| CN |
Casein number |
Weight % of casein in the total (crude) protein of milk. |
| CFU |
Colony forming unit |
Unit for bacteria counts as in cfu/ml |
| FDM |
Fat in the dry matter |
100 x Fat/(100 - moisture) |
| IBC |
Individual bacteria count |
The unit used to estimate bacteria counts as determined by bactoscan rather than counting bacterial colonies on agar plates. |
| LAB |
Lactic acid bacteria |
|
| MNFS |
Moisture in the non-fat substance |
100 x Moisture/(100 - fat) |
| NFS |
Non-fat solids |
The trade also uses the acronym SNF (Solids non-fat). |
| NPN |
Non-protein nitrogen |
Nitrogenous materials present in milk that are often included in estimates of total milk protein. Crude protein means NPN is included in the total; true protein means NPN is excluded. If protein is not specified as crude or true, assume it is crude. |
| NSLAB |
Non-starter lactic acid bacteria |
|
| PF |
Ratio of protein to fat in the milk |
PF is the principal determinant of the FDM in the cheese. |
| pH |
A measure of acidity |
Neutral = 7.0; Acid < 7.0; Alkaline > 7.0 |
| RH |
Relative Humidity |
|
| SM |
Salt as weight % of cheese moisture |
100 x Salt/moisture |
| TA |
Titratable acidity |
Expressed as weight % of lactic acid. |
