Microbiological quality of Requeijão Moreno produced in Salinas, MG: a case study

Abstract

Many of the cheeses produced in Brazil come from artisanal production. The economic and social importance of this form of production is undeniable. On the other hand, selling innocuous food to the population is extremely important. Requeijão Moreno is a traditional artisanal cheese from the north of Minas Gerais, widely consumed and marketed in the city of Salinas, MG. However, it does not have the Arte seal that demonstrates the quality of the artisanal product for commercialization. The cheeses produced in Brazil from artisanal production, such as Requeijão Moreno, have significant economic and social relevance. Thus, this study aimed to make a study case that investigated the microbiological quality of Requeijão Moreno made under different processing conditions and products sold at the Municipal Market of Salinas, MG. For this, three Requeijão Moreno formulations were produced, two from raw milk (F1 and F2) and one with pasteurized milk (F3), and samples were obtained from four producers (C1, C2, C3, C4, all produced with raw milk) and three samples were taken from each finished product, thus totalling 21 samples analyzed for the detection of Salmonella sp., counts of coagulase-positive staphylococci, and total and thermotolerant coliforms. Only samples C3 and C4 showed the presence of Salmonella sp. All samples did not show coagulase-positive staphylococci. From the results, it can be observed that it is possible to obtain Requeijão Moreno produced with raw milk with microbiological quality if hygienic and sanitary practices are correctly performed.