Microbiological characterization of ripened Minas artisanal cheese marketed in São Paulo: safety, hygiene and microbial diversity

• Grant number: 18/02630-5
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Effective date (Start): June 01, 2018
• Effective date (End): November 29, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology
• Cooperation agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Bernadette Dora Gombossy de Melo Franco
• Grantee: Josisleine Recalde Allaion Ferreira
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas (FCF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/07914-8 - FoRC - Food Research Center, AP.CEPID
• Associated scholarship(s): 19/03176-9 - Characterization of biocide-tolerant bacteria isolated from artisanal cheeses, BE.EP.MS

Abstract

Brazilian legislation on production and marketing of cheeses is complex and raises many controversies in the cheese industry, which must comply with federal, state and municipal regulations. In the case of minas artisanal cheese, the main challenge of the sector is to meet the current standards regarding the minimum ripening time required for commercialization outside the State of Minas Gerais, necessary for safe consumption, since it is produced with raw milk and natural lactic culture, and the mass can not undergo heat treatment. In recent years, the commercialization of artisanal minas cheese in São Paulo with no information on maturation time has been increasing, bringing concern to consumers and inspection agencies. This master's research project aims to collect 100 samples of cheese labeled "artisanal minas cheese" at different commercial points in the city of São Paulo and analyze them for the presence of the pathogens Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp. and coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus, and also to evaluate the hygienic-sanitary conditions, through enumeration of total coliforms and Escherichia coli. Cultivation-dependent and cultivation-independent techniques (qPCR) and commercial rapid kits will be employed, as appropriate. It is also intended to use Next Generation Sequencing techniques to evaluate the microbial diversity present in these cheeses, aiming to detect tendency of similarity among them or with the microbiota found in the artisanal minas cheese of Serra da Canastra, which holds certification of origin and is object of another research project underway at FoRC (Food Research Center, CEPID, FAPESP). (AU)