Caracterização do Queijo Minas Artesanal do Cerrado

Abstract

Brazil is one of the largest producers of milk and dairy products in the world; Minas Gerais stands out as the largest and most traditional producer of milk and artisanal cheeses. Among the cheeses produced, the Minas Artesanal variety is well known and appreciated throughout the country. There are, to date, eight regions recognized for the production of this variety: Araxá, Campo das Vertentes, Canastra, Cerrado, Serras da Ibitipoca, Serra do Salitre, Serro and Triângulo Mineiro. To be marketed within the requirements established by state legislation, it is necessary that the cheeses are matured, in order to reduce the presence of unwanted microorganisms and also for the development of sensory characteristics inherent to each one of them. According to current legislation, the maturation period for Minas Artesanal Cheese (QMA) from the Cerrado must be at least 22 (twenty-two) days, based on the maturation of cheeses from another region. Therefore, this work was carried out with the objective of evaluating the physicochemical and microbiological parameters of the Cerrado QMA, in two periods of the year (rain and dry). Physical-chemical and microbiological analyzes were also carried out for raw milk, water and drop used in the production of these cheeses. It was observed that some properties had failures in the chlorination of the water in the dairies, two had a result of free residual chlorine above what is established in the legislation (2.0 mg/L) and three dairies showed a value below (0.2 mg/L), but met the other established parameters. Raw milk samples were within the established physicochemical standards, but updated parameters for microbiological analyzes and specifically for raw milk are still lacking. The drop showed higher counts of Coliforms at 35°C, thermotolerant coliforms and Staphylococcus coagulase positive in the rainy season than in the dry season. In the QMA, it was observed that maturation influenced the results of acidity, chloride content, pH, fat, proteins and moisture. For this last parameter, the QMA with 7 days of maturation, in the two periods studied, was already within the standard established in the legislation, which is a maximum of 45.9%. The microbiological analyzes of the QMA showed that 14 days of maturation were enough to meet the standards for Coliforms at 35°, 22 days for thermotolerant coliforms and 7 days for coagulase-positive Staphylococcus. In only one sample with 1 day of QMA production was detected the presence of Salmonella spp. and the presence of Listeria monocytogenes was not detected in any analyzed sample. With this research, it was possible to characterize the QMA of the Cerrado, as until now there were no comprehensive data on the physicochemical and microbiological profile of the cheeses produced in this region.