Monitoramento da microbiota dos queijos coloniais artesanais da Região Sudoeste do Paraná

Abstract

The artisanal Colonial cheese from the Southwest region of Paraná represents a culture that has been passed on from generation to generation, therefore, it symbolizes a heritage for the producing families. In addition, the Colonial cheese found in the region usually comes from production using raw milk, making it a possible means of contamination by pathogenic and deteriorating microorganisms. For this reason, it is possible that sometimes this cheese has undesirable characteristics, as well as being subject to risk to the health of consumers. The objective of this research was to monitor the microbiota of samples of artisanal Colonial cheeses in the region, through microbiological analyzes to quantify lactic acid bacteria (LABs) and pathogenic microorganisms, in addition to evaluating some physicochemical characteristics of these samples. The results showed that the analyzed samples were medium moisture cheeses, with higher acidity and low pH. In the microbiological analyses, the samples showed the absence of Salmonella spp. and staphylococcal enterotoxin. In the quantification analyzes of Staphylococcus coagulase-positive, total coliforms, and E. coli, some samples showed counts higher than the limit established by current legislation, and for Listeria, all samples showed values lower than those established by legislation. It was concluded that 22% of the analyzed samples were suitable for consumption, indicating that good milking and manufacturing practices should be intensified, in particular hygiene care, both at the manufacturing site and among employees.