The eye-less border zone was mainly affected by three factors: CO2 diffusion to the outside, CO2 amount from propionic acid fermentation, and body firmness. The study clearly showed that CT combined with the new image analysis software VG Studio Max 3.2 is a potent method for analyzing the eye formation in cheese. The salt-dependent viscoelastic properties of the cheese matrix and the salt sensitivity of the PAB strains both influenced significantly the number and the spatial distribution of the eyes.
