| Congresso Brasileiro de Microbiologia 2023 | Resumo: 349-2 | ||||
Resumo:Sao Paulo state is gaining reach in the Brazilian artisanal cheese market. However, little is known about production practices and the microbiological safety of these cheeses. This work aimed to characterize the production chain of artisanal cheeses from Sao Paulo and their microbiological safety. To this end, this project was developed in two steps: the first consisted on the collection
of data from the artisanal cheese production chain in the state, through an online questionnaire, which it was shared through social media to the cheesemakers in the state. The second, consisted on the assessment of cow raw and pasteurized milk cheeses microbiological quality and safety parameters according to the Brazilian regulatory standards. Microbiological analyses consisted on detection of Salmonella sp. (ISO 6579:2007), enumeration of Listeria monocytogenes (ISO 11290-2:2004), total coliforms, Escherichia coli and coagulase positive Staphylococcus using
Petrifilm®3M. The results were analyzed by descriptive statistical analysis (relative frequencies, means and deviations), using the Minitab 20 software. 34 responses were collected from the questionnaire. The data showed that the most common raw materials are cow’s milk (76%), and the main cheese products are ripened (19%), fresh (19%), followed by moldy (12%) and halfcured cheeses (12%), with a mean of 7 (±5) different types of cheese per farm. From this
panorama, the microbiological composition of 18 cheeses (from 11 cheese farms) was assessed, of which 16 were made with raw milk and 2 with pasteurized milk. Based on the microbiological parameters established by the Brazilian legislation, 4 cheeses (22%) met the criteria and 14 (78%) did not meet these parameters. Of those cheeses that did not meet the microbial parameters, 6
presented E. coli counts above 2 log CFU/g (moisture < 46%) or 3 log CFU/g (moisture ≥ 46%) and 14 did not meet the parameters for coagulase positive Staphylococcus (> 3 log CFU/g). In addition, contamination by Salmonella sp. was detected in 3 (16%) samples and by L. monocytogenes in 13 (72%) of the 18 samples analyzed by conventional PCR. It is important that more studies are carried out on this subject, enabling the elaboration of public policy programs that can help the artisanal cheese producers, taking into account the needs of São Paulo’s artisanal cheese production chain and the assurance of safe products offered to the population. Palavras-chave: artisanal cheese, production chain, cheese microbiology, food safety Agência de fomento:CAPES | |||||