## 4 Conclusions  
The inclusion of 100 g of freeze-dried Spirulina per day in the diets of buffalo does not alter the chemical composition of mozzarella cheese or the characteristics identified using chromatographic instruments, including the fatty acid profile or the classes of volatile organic compounds. Nevertheless, this small amount of supplementation affects the sensory characteristics of mozzarella cheese, as assessed by the panel of experts. The experimental mozzarella cheese was found to be brighter, sweeter, more bitter, juicier, more tender, and oilier, with higher buttermilk release, butter odour, and whey flavour than traditional buffalo mozzarella cheese. In addition, providing information about the nutraceuticaltial properties of Spirulina and its possible beneficial effect on animal health to consumers can have a strong effect on their liking, as they rated the experimental mozzarella greater than the conventional one, and expressed a higher willingness to pay for the mozzarella cheese produced by the buffalo fed with Spirulina. Further studies with a higher level of Spirulina are necessary in order to confirm these results.  
The following supporting information can be downloaded at [[https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/foods12224095/s1](https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/foods12224095/s1)]([https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/foods12224095/s1](https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/foods12224095/s1)), Table S1: Ingredients (kg/head/day) and chemical composition (% of dry matter, DM, if not otherwise stated) of the experimental total mixed rations.  
**Author Contributions:** Conceptualisation, G.D.R., C.M.A.B. and C.P.; methodology, C.L. and F.S.; validation, F.S., A.D.F., J.M.L. and C.P.; formal analysis, C.L. and A.B.; investigation, C.L., F.S. and C.P.; resources, G.D.R. and J.M.L.; data curation, C.L., A.B., A.D.F. and C.M.A.B.; writing--original draft preparation, C.L. and A.B.; writing--review and editing, C.L., F.S., A.B., C.M.A.B. and G.D.R.; visualisation, C.P. and A.D.F.; supervision, G.D.R.; project administration, G.D.R.; funding acquisition, G.D.R. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
**Funding:** This research was supported by the Campania Region, PSR 2014-2020 Tipologia 16.1.1, SPI-RALBUF project (Impiego della Spirulina nell'alimentazione della bufala), CUP: B68H19005470008.  
**Institutional Review Board Statement:** This study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Ethical Animal Care and Use Committee of Federico II University of Naples (protocol code: 007143; 8/1/2020).  
**Data Availability Statement:** The datasets of the present study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.  
**Acknowledgments:** We dedicate this paper to, and in memory of, our beloved friend and colleague, [PERSON], who contributed greatly to this study. He continues to inspire our work. The authors thank [PERSON] (Scuola di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Universita degli Studi della Basilicata) and [PERSON] (Dipartimento di Agraria, Universita degli Studi di Napoli Federico II) for their expert technical assistance. Thanks are also due to [PERSON] (buffalo farm \"Azienda agricola Colangelo Davide\") and [PERSON] (dairy \"La Perla del Mediterraneo\") and their staff for managing the animals and producing the mozzarella, respectively.  
**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.