Hygienic-sanitary quality of fresh Minas cheese: a review

Abstract

Fresh Minas cheese is na originally Brazilian product widely consumed by the population, which manufacture is, generally, of small scale and with little technology. The hygienic-sanitary condition of production is the first step in the manufacture of a product that guarantees food safety for consumers. Based on this, the need for information about food safety during processing was the premise for the present study, which aimed to conduct a survey on the hygienic-sanitary quality of fresh Minas cheese and if these products pose a risk to the consumer. This review was based on articles available in the SciELO database, CAPES journals, PubMed and MEDLINE and other publications of journals in databases in the area of Food Science and Technology and the respective legislation in force. Publications on microbiological quality of fresh Minas cheeses published between the years 2016 to 2020 were selected and in order to guide the research, the following terms were consulted: fresh Minas cheese, microbiological quality, public health, food safety, food pathogens and good manufacturing practices. With this study it was possible to identify that in all articles the evaluated parameters are in disagreement with the quality standards proposed by the current legislation, indicating that producers are not aware or are unaware of good manufacturing practices. Based on the results, it is suggested that producers of fresh Minas cheese adopt effective measures of good manufacturing practices in order to guarantee the safety of the product and the preservation of consumers' health.