ABSTRACT
Maraj; Island has the biggest water buffalo herd in Brazil, and the Microregion of Arari is the main water buffalo"s milk and cheese producer. This study aimed to characterize physicochemical and microbiological composition of Maraj;"s butter-type cheese and to verify differences in its characteristics between rainy and dry seasons of the year. Acidity, pH and percentage of fat in dry matter (% FDM) were attributes that showed significant difference (P 0.05) by Tukey test between the two seasons. The remaining Maraj;"s butter-type cheese components (moisture, fat, total protein, ash, salt and total dry matter) did not vary along the year. Regarding to microbiological characteristics, in general, the count was higher in the rainy season, except for Escherichia Coli, wich remained constant. Values found for total coliforms were medium to low. For E. coli values meet legal requirements (less than 101CFU g-1) and, therefore, were satisfactory. Counts of Staphylococcus aureus were high, with 0% of samples within the standards of the norm in the rainy season and 9.1% in the dry season. The aerobic mesophilic count was different between the periods of the year and was higher in the rainy season. Presence of the pathogens Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella sp. was not detected. Despite the cheeses analyzed are in accordance with national legislation regarding chemical composition
A Ilha de Maraj; possui o maior rebanho bubalino do Brasil, sendo a Microrregi;o de Arari a principal produtora de leite e queijo de b;fala. O objetivo do presente estudo foi caracterizar, por meio de an;lises f;sico-qu;micas e microbiol;gicas, o Queijo do Maraj; tipo manteiga e verificar se h; diferen;as de suas caracter;sticas entre as esta;;es do ano, chuvosa e seca. A acidez, pH e a porcentagem de gordura no extrato seco foram atributos de composi;;o centesimal que apresentaram diferen;a significativa (P 0,05) pelo teste Tukey, entre as duas esta;;es do ano. Os demais componentes (umidade, gordura, prote;na total, cinza, EST e sal) desse queijo n;o variaram em fun;;o da ;poca do ano. Quanto ;s caracter;sticas microbiol;gicas, as contagens foram maiores na esta;;o chuvosa, exceto para as de Escherichia coli, que mantiveram-se constantes e adequadas ; legisla;;o. As contagens de Staphylococcus aureus foram altas e fora dos padr;es da norma vigente. A contagem de aer;bios mes;filos foi maior na ;poca das chuvas. N;o foi detectada a presen;a dos pat;genos Listeria monocytogenes e Salmonella sp. Apesar dos queijos analisados se enquadrarem nas legisla;;es estadual e nacional, no tocante ; composi;;o qu;mica, os resultados indicam contagem S. aureus muito elevadas, o que enfatiza a necessidade da implementa;;o imediata de Boas Pr;ticas de Fabrica;;o para a inocuidade dos produ