Incidence of coliform and enterococci microorganisms in milk dairy products

Abstract

Researching the representatives of the enterococci and coliform groups in milk and dairy products, in a total of 214 samples, and interpreting the results by means of the MPN, it was possible to determine the viability of these bacteria in dairy foods of a varied technology (saltless butter, hard and soft “Minas” cheese, “muzzarella” and “parmezão” cheese, “C” type pasteurized milk, whole and skimmed powdered milk). It was evidenced that the higher or lower occurrence of microorganisms in each group is conditioned to the chemical composition and to the technological variations inherent to the preparation of each type of product. Thus, there was a numerical preponderance, statistically evidenced, of enterococci over coliforms in saltless butter, hard and soft “Minas” cheese, “C” type pasteurized milk, whole and skimmed powdered milk, and in the “muzzarella” and “parmezão” types of cheese. On the other hand, the chances of finding positive results for enterococci and negative for coliform are greater than the inverse in the case of saltless butter, hard “ Minas” cheese and the “muzzarella” and “parmezão” types, and in the case of the “C” type pasteurized milk, and in the whole and skimmed powdered. There was an identical probability for the fresh “Minas” and Prato types of cheese. Finally, the investigation concerning the prevalence of one or the other group in the foods referred to, seems to contribute to future considerations about adequacy as indicators of fecal poluition.