Published Article / An artificial neural network (ANN) that is able to distinguish between Cheddar cheese produced with milk from mixed and single breed sources was designed. Samples of each batch (4 pure Ayrshire/4 mixed with no Ayrshire milk) were ripened for 92 days and analysed every 14 days. A novel ANN was designed and applied which, based only on Lactococcus lactis counts, provided an acceptable classification of the cheeses. The ANN consisted of a multi-layered network with supervised training arranged in an ordered hierarchy of layers, in which connections were allowed only between nodes in immediately adjacent layers.