Research on Staphylococcus aureus in four varieties of cheese produced in a dairy from the northwest of Paraná

Resumo

Cheese is frequently pointed as a potential vehicle of diseases transmitted by food, due to its rich composition, humidity and the excess of manipulation. Staphylococcus aureus is one of the main microorganisms responsible for outbreaks of food poisoning by ingestion of milk and cheese contaminated with preformed enterotoxins. In this context, this paper aims to evaluate the occurrence of Staphylococcus aureus in 46 cheese samples of four varieties, which are: frescal, mozzarella, danbo and ricotta, produced by the same dairy from the northwest of Paraná from August 2009 to July 2010. According to the obtained results, 95.65% of the analyzed samples followed the RDC nº 12/01 established standards by the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA). It is believed that the unsatisfactory results obtained in two of the studied samples, frescal and ricotta, were due to poor hygiene of equipment and of the handlers, contaminated raw material or post-processing contamination.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14685/rebrapa.v2i1.36