Abstract

VASQUEZ A, Víctor; SALHUANAG, José Gerardo; JIMENEZ D, Luis A  and  ABANTO RIOS, Leidyn M. Evaluation of the bacteriological quality of fresh cheeses from Cajamarca. Ecol. apl. [online]. 2018, vol.17, n.1, pp.45-51. ISSN 1726-2216.  http://dx.doi.org/10.21704/rea.v17i1.1172.

Industrial fresh cheese coming from the main companies of the city of Cajamarca, is widely consumed by the inhabitants of the city; however, the population does not know it’s bacteriological quality, representing a health risk. Likewise, there is no data base of food intoxications presented in the Cajamarca Region. The objective of the research is to determine the microbial load of fresh industrial cheese, as well as to evaluate its bacteriological quality by means of what is established in the Sanitary Standard that constitutes the Microbiological Criteria of Sanitary Quality and Safety for Food and Beverage for Human Consumption. For this, a total of 30 samples of 0.5 kg each were taken from 6 companies producing industrial fresh cheese (A, B, C, D, E and F). The relevant microbiological analyzes were performed for the determination of viable mesophiles, coliforms, Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp. and Staphylococcus aureus. The design was completely randomized with 5 repetitions. At the conclusion of the analysis process, the following average valuesof microbial load were reported: viable mesophiles 1.06x10⁵ CFU/g, total coliforms 6.32x10³ MPN/g, fecal coliforms 4.75x10³ MPN/g, positive samples for Escherichia coli 33.3%, Staphylococcus aureus 4.02x10³ CFU/g and absence of Salmonella spp. These results were compared with the Sanitary Standard that establishes the Microbiological Criteria of Sanitary Quality and Safety for Food and Beverage for Human Consumption "(R.M. N° 591-2008-MINSA) concluding that the cheeses from company F present better microbial conditions.

Keywords : cheese; bacteriological quality; Escherichia coli; Staphylococcus aureus; Salmonella spp.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )