The aim of this study was to evaluate the hygienic conditions throughout the manufacture process of a goat unripened cheese, using the enumeration of coliforms, S. aureus and aerobic mesofilic bacteria as indicators. The production of three different lots of cheese was followed, being collected samples throughout the processing steps. Furthermore, samples of cheese belonging to the same sampled lot were collected in the shelf of a commercial establishment throughout the shelf life period. Swabs were streaked onto blood agar plates; water samples were submitted to colimetric assays; all other samples were submitted to coliform, S. aureus and aerobic mesofilic bacteria enumeration using routine protocols. It was observed a great decreasing of bacterial counts in the raw milk during the pasteurization process. In spite of that, the transfer of the pasteurized milk to the coagulation tank by an equipment, which was previously in contact with the raw milk and was inadequately disinfected, resulted in the recontamination of the pasteurized milk. The packed cheese had bacterial counts according to the standards imposed by the Brazilian food regulatory agency. However, the high aerobic mesofilic bacteria counts suggest that the good manufactures practices have to be improved in order to guarantee the hygienic quality and an extender shelf life for the cheese.
cheese; colimetric assays; hygienic quality; thermotolerant coliforms; shelf life
