Avaliação da qualidade microbiológica e físico-química de queijos maturados produzidos com leite cru

The objective was to evaluate the microbiological and physical-chemical quality of 30 matured cheeses produced from raw milk. Detection of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella; and quantification of coagulase positive staphylococcal (CPS) and coliform at 45°C were realized; and physical-chemical analyzes: moisture, fat, fat in the dry extract, pH and titratable acidity were performed. Sixteen (53.3%) samples were out of microbiological standards. Salmonella was identified in one (3.3%) sample and L. monocytogenes was not detected. Coliforms at 45°C above 10³/g were found in 12 (40.0%) samples. Concerning the CPS quantification, 12 (40.0%) samples presented counts higher than the limit of 103/g. Regarding physical chemical analyzes, all cheeses were out of standard in at least one parameter. It can be concluded that artisanal cheeses can represent a risk to the population, so the sanitary surveillance institutions should intensify inspection and regulation actions in this class of products.