Avaliação da qualidade de queijo minas frescal quanto aos ensaios de umidade, gordura e presença de matérias estranhas

Abstract

Considering that the Minas frescalcheese is of great acceptance for the Brazilian consumers, it was considered necessary to monitor the quality of this food, as regards the physical-chemical aspects of moisture and fat and in relation to the presence of foreign matter. A total of 30 samples were analyzed of 5 different brands and 6 lots of each brand, purchased commercially from Grande ABC (SP) from April to September 2015. The moisture and fat tests were performed according to the methods described in the book Physicochemical methods for food analysis: analytical standards of the Adolfo Lutz Institute and the research of foreign matter according to the AOAC official methods. The results of the moisture analyzes revealed that 17% were in disagreement with the legislation by presenting values below the limit. As for the parameter fat in dry extract, 6% of analyzed samples were in disagreement with the current legislation by presenting values above the recommended procedure. Regarding the presence of foreign matter, at least 50% of samplesfrom each brand had light filth and all the brands had presented fragments of rodent hair. The results demonstrate the lack of compliance with the parameters of product identity and quality, indicating the need for maintenance of good practices and constant surveillance of this food.