Resumen

MALDONADO, Ronald  y  LLANCA, Luis. Study of the “queso de mano” (hand cheese) quality sold in girardot municipality, Aragua state, Venezuela. Rev. Cient. (Maracaibo) [online]. 2008, vol.18, n.4, pp.431-436. ISSN 0798-2259.

The physical-chemical and microbiological characteristics of 32 samples of hand cheese purchased in the four best sales centers in the Girardot Municipality, Aragua State, Venezuela, were studied. The average values for the physical-chemical evaluation were the following: 51.3% moisture; 49.40% (dwb) fat; 45.52% (dwb) protein; 3.74% (dwb) NaCl; pH 4.51 and 0.76% acidity. The bacteriological evaluation gave as average values: mesophilic aerobic bacteria, 4.3×10⁹ colony-forming units per gram (CFU/g); total coliform, 2.2×10⁶ most probable number per gram (MPN/g) and Staphylococcus spp 2.9×10⁶ CFU/g, of which 25% recorded as coagulase-positive. The results obtained in the physical-chemical analysis showed that there was a important variation for each evaluated variable between each production or lot and among centers of sales. The above-mentioned may be due to multifactorial causes such as lack of standardization in the manufacturing procedure, inadequate handling in transportation and storage and deficiencies in the time-temperature control during storage. The results of the microbiological evaluation showed that for all the samples from the four centers studied, the microbial load was above the maximum values recommended by the Venezuelan norms COVENIN. Thereupon, the consumption of hand cheese in studied centers could represent a health hazard for consumer.

Palabras clave : Hand cheese; Staphylococcus aureus; quality.