Abstract

LOGUERCIO, Andrea Pinto  and  ALEIXO, José Antônio Guimarães. Microbiology of homemade Minas Frescal cheese. Cienc. Rural [online]. 2001, vol.31, n.6, pp. 1063-1067. ISSN 0103-8478.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-84782001000600024.

To evaluate the hygienic-sanitary quality, thirty samples of the homemade "Minas Frescal" cheese were obtained from two places of commercialization in Cuiabá - MT, Brazil during two months. The samples were submitted to the following microbiological analysis: Staphylococcus aureus counting, total and fecal coliforms and Escherichia coli by MPN method. In the determination of fecal coliforms, 28 samples (93.33%) showed values greater than 10² MPN per g, and only two samples (6.67%) were within the national microbiological standard. Regarding to S. aureus, 29 samples (96.67%) were higher than 10³ CFU/g, and only one sample (3.33%) was in accordance with the national microbiological standard. The sanitary authorities should carefully consider the permission of the production and commercialization of this product, due to the risks to the consumer’s health.

Keywords : Minas Frescal cheese; coliforms; Staphylococcus aureus; Escherichia coli.