This study aimed to characterize the
safety and technological properties of
Enterococcus faecium strains isolated from Brazilian Coalho
cheeses. High levels of co-aggregation were observed between
Enterococcus faecium strains EM485 and EM925 and both
Escherichia coli and
Clostridium perfringens. Both
strains presented low levels of
hydrophobicity. E. faecium EM485 and EM925 were both able to grow in the presence of 0.5% of the
sodium salts of
taurocholic acid (TC),
taurodeoxycholic acid (TDC),
glycocholic acid (GC), and
glycodeoxycholic acid (GDC), although they showed the
ability to deconjugate only GDC and TDC. Both
strains showed good
survival when exposed to conditions simulating the gastro intestinal tract (GIT). When tested for the presence of
virulence genes, only
tyrosine decarboxylase and
vancomycin B generated positive
PCR results.