Abstract

MARIA RAQUEL HIDALGO, Campos et al. Phenotypic characterization by antibiogram of Escherichia coli strains isolated from handlers, raw milk and "Minas Frescal" cheese samples in a dairy process plant in Goiás, Brazil. Cienc. Rural [online]. 2006, vol.36, n.4, pp. 1221-1227. ISSN 0103-8478.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-84782006000400027.

The present work aimed to type E. coli strains obtained from handlers hands and noses, raw milk and Minas Frescal cheese produced by a dairy milk processing plant in Goiás, Brazil in order to establish a contamination relationship between the sources of E. coli and cheese. Twenty-four samples were collected from raw milk and Minas Frescal cheese, 46 from hands and 46 from noses of handlers involved in the cheese manufacturing, between March/2004 and February/2005. All 69 E. coli strains isolated were submitted to the susceptibility test for six antimicrobials (ampicillin, cephalothin, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, trimethopim-sulphamethoxazole and tetracycline. The strains were grouped in 17 different phenotypic susceptibility profiles (A-Q). The test allowed to establish correlation among a cheese strain (14Qb) and a handler (10M1) strain that presented the same susceptibility profile (E) suggesting a possible product contamination during the handling. In conclusion, the phenotypic susceptibility profiles determinated by the antibiogram method failed to establish a correlation between the strains obtained from the probable sources (handlers and milk) and the final products.

Keywords : Coliforms; handling; raw milk; Minas Frescal cheese.