PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY OF GRATED PARMESAN-TYPE CHEESE SOLD IN PONTA GROSSA, PARANÁ (BRAZIL)

Abstract

The grated Parmesan-type cheese is among the most consumed and defrauded products in Brazil, because the fragmentation facilitates tampering. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate the physicochemical and microbiological quality of grated cheeses sold in the region of Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brazil. The physicochemical analysis of cheese samples included lactic acid, proteins, lipids, moisture, ash, peroxide index and Lugol's iodine test; microbiological analysis were carried out to determine the most probable number of coliforms at 45 ºC/g, plate count of Staphylococcus aureus (positive coagulase), analysis of Salmonella spp and Enterococcus spp. The samples showed significant differences mainly in the levels of lipids, moisture, ash and lactic acid, while for the values of protein and peroxide index variations between brands were lower. Fraud with starch has been identified in one brand. The counts of Staphylococcus spp (coagulase negative) ranged from 4.1 to 6.0 x 10³ CFU/g, but Staphylococcus aureus (positive coagulase) was not detected. The presence of Salmonella and coliforms (45 ºC) were negative in all samples. The presence of Enterococcus faecium sensitive to vancomycin was detected in three lots, but microorganism counts were lower than those established in the legislation which proves acceptable sanitary quality for the studied grated cheese. On the other hand, the physicochemical composition showed great variation, indicating problems with fraud and lipid oxidation in the samples.

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