Diagnóstico das condições ambientais e avaliação dos riscos microbiológicos no processamento de queijo de coalho.

Abstract

Coalho cheese is considered one of the most important types of cheese produced in the Brazilian Northeast, especially in the interior of the State of Paraíba, considering that its production is so important for the socio-economic and cultural aspects. Aparecida and Sousa cities, places of this study, are part of the dairy industry of the State, and present along with the other seven micro-regions which produce coalho cheese, a prominent relevance. Toward this importance, the identification of potential microbiological risks that may affect the population, by the consumption of coalho cheese, became the object of this study. Thus, the study aimed to conduct a survey of environmental conditions and estimate the microbiological risks in industrial and artisanal processing units of coalho cheese, establishing control measures for the processes to ensure a final product with safe hygienic and sanitary conditions for commercialization as well as for consumption. To make possible the identification of critical control points and establishment of preventive measures, it was necessary to delineate the hygienic-sanitary and industrial profile, and raise the environmental and biological risks present in the production places besides to conduct bibliographic searches in specialized scientific literature, for based on the obtained data, apply the tools of the HACCP and Risk Assessment, and thus be possible to estimate the microbiological risks and establish the necessary preventive measures to control those risks. It was observed during the study that the manufacture of artisanal coalho cheese can still be characterized as a very rudimentary activity, therefore has no sophisticated technology compared to the industrial process, and that the physicochemical conditions of the processes so as of the product cooperate for the multiplication of pathogenic microbial possibly present. It was evident that the products are within the physicochemical standards established in the Technical Regulation of Identity and Quality for Coalho Cheese, IN nº 30/01of ‘MAPA’, but nevertheless, it is necessary to promote adaptations in production plants and processes, in order to attend the sanitary laws, nationally recommended. Although the industrial production has quality programs implanted, as the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), and all physical infrastructure necessary for a safe food production, the results of microbiological analyses of the product, reaffirm the need of constant re-deployment of GMP's, especially in training and awareness of food handlers about the importance of their role in the production. Structural aspects of the production area, specifically the thermal and luminous conditions, have direct implications on the degree of plants and products contamination, the same was not observed with the acoustic conditions. Thus, it can be concluded that the design of process and manufacturing environment, associated to the implementation of the tools of HACCP and Risk Assessment, allowed estimate the potential microbiological risks that affect the product, coalho cheese, in its many ways of production. It became evident the need for technical and technological interventions, on this link of production chain, to promote the real implementation of control measures determinate in this study in order to make it safer and more competitive.