## 4 Conclusions  
The addition of OEOs at 100 and 200 \(\mu\)L/L to milk did not affect the survival or growth of the two _Lc. lactis_ starter cultures during cheese making. Experimental cheeses were characterized by the same ash, fat, and protein content in comparison to control products. OEOs' addition significantly increased the antioxidant activity of Tuma cheeses and impacted cheese VOC profiles with carvacrol, suggesting a high carryover of the volatile fraction of EOs from milk to final cheeses. Sensory traits were not negatively affected by the addition of OEO, but the highest values of overall satisfaction were evidenced for the Tuma cheeses enriched with 100 \(\mu\)L/L of OEOs. The addition of OEO was not able to completely inhibit the growth of the main dairy pathogens in the final chees, but it reduced significantly their development in OEO-added cheeses. The results of this study clearly highlighted the positive role of OEOs to enlarge the Sicilian ewes' milk-derived products portfolio, and may open new promising opportunities for the prevention of dairy pathogenic bacteria growth during cheese production. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Samples**} & \multicolumn{6}{c}{**Microbial Counts**} \\ \cline{2-7}  & **TMM** & _Lc. lactis_ & _E. coli_ & _L. monocytogenes_ & _S. Enteritidis_ & _St. aureus_ \\ \hline Pasteurized milk & 2.71 & 2.64 & \textless{}1 & \textless{}1 & \textless{}1 & \textless{}1 \\ Inoculated milk & & & & & & \\ CCP & 7.09 & 7.01 & 3.99 & 3.91 & 4.02 & 3.88 \\ ECP0100 & 7.13 & 7.06 & 3.86 & 3.82 & 3.97 & 3.80 \\ ECP0200 & 7.08 & 7.09 & 3.90 & 3.90 & 4.05 & 3.99 \\ SEM & 0.06 & 0.05 & 0.06 & 0.05 & 0.05 & 0.06 \\ \(p\) value & 0.972 & 0.914 & 0.829 & 0.865 & 0.928 & 0.673 \\ Curd & & & & & & \\ CCP & 7.96 & 7.95 & 4.90 & 4.82 & 4.79 & 5.01 \\ ECP0100 & 8.03 & 7.87 & 4.91 & 4.73 & 4.82 & 4.94 \\ ECP0200 & 8.01 & 7.92 & 4.84 & 4.66 & 4.76 & 5.05 \\ SEM & 0.05 & 0.04 & 0.05 & 0.06 & 0.04 & 0.04 \\ \(p\) value & 0.926 & 0.870 & 0.929 & 0.782 & 0.942 & 0.817 \\ Cheese & & & & & & \\ CCP & 8.85 & 8.67 & 5.71 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 5.31 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 5.09 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 5.66 \({}^{\text{a}}\) \\ ECP0100 & 8.96 & 8.84 & 2.99 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 2.55 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 3.01 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 3.11 \({}^{\text{b}}\) \\ ECP0200 & 8.90 & 8.70 & 2.74 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 2.23 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 2.93 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 3.01 \({}^{\text{b}}\) \\ SEM & 0.05 & 0.06 & 0.34 & 0.35 & 0.25 & 0.31 \\ \(p\) value & 0.857 & 0.727 & \textless{}0.0001 & \textless{}0.0001 & \textless{}0.0001 & \textless{}0.0001 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* Units are Log CFU/mL for milk samples and Log CFU/g for cards and chees. Results indicate the mean values of six plate counts (carried out in triplicate for two independent productions). Data within a column followed by the same letter are not significantly different according to [PERSON]’s test. Abbreviations: TMM, total mesophilic microorganisms; _Lc., Lactococcus; E., Escherichia; L., Listeria; S., Salmonella; St., Staphylococcus;_CCP, control cheese product inoculated with the milk starter cultures (MSC); ECP0100, experimental cheese product inoculated with MSC + 100 \(\mu\)L/L of oregano essential oils (OEOs); ECPO200, experimental cheese product inoculated with MSC + 200 \(\mu\)L/L of OEOs.  
\end{table} 
Table 5: Microbial loads of samples collected during the artificial contamination test. **Supplementary Materials:** The following supporting information can be downloaded at: [[https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/antiox12061293/s1](https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/antiox12061293/s1)]([https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/antiox12061293/s1](https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/antiox12061293/s1)), Table S1. Volatile Organic Compounds determined by GC-MS in Tuma Cheeses. Conceptualization, A.D.G. and R.G. ; methodology, D.P., A.B. and L.S. ; software, M.P., M.B., S.O., A.A. and A.D.G. ; validation, A.B., L.S. and R.G. ; formal analysis, G.G. ([PERSON]), M.P., M.B., G.F., G.G. ([PERSON]) and G.S.