Objective: The aim of this work was to study the effect of raw milk stored at 6° and 12°C for 60 h on Provolone Valpadana PDO cheese characteristics. Microbiological, chemical, and hygienic aspects were considered, as well as the sensorial quality. Materials and Methods: Microbiological analyses to determine different bacterial groups, hygiene indicators and pathogens, and chemical composition analysis were carried out both on milk after storage and on cheeses during ripening. Proteolysis by

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... illary electrophoresis, free amino acids by ion exchange HPLC, volatile compounds by SPME/GC/MS were also evaluated. Sensory pro-perties of the cheeses were estimated by triangular test. Results: None of the experimental cheeses showed hygienic problems, despite the high microbial load of milk used. Anyway, the use of milk stored at 12°C for 60 h turned to be critical for cheesemaking and cracks in ripened cheese were detected, not observed using milk stored at 6°C.