Diversidade da microbiota do ambiente de maturação de queijos minas artesanais do campo das vertentes

Abstract

Cheese production in Brazil began with the aim of meeting the needs of European colonizers, but the particular climate, as well as the breed of animals and the vegetation intended for their nutrition gave the product unique characteristics, generating a new type of cheese. Minas Artesanal Cheese (QMA), historically, has been produced from raw cow's milk and usually follows traditional manufacturing processes, on small rural properties, with emphasis currently on the Campos das Vertentes region, due to the sensory approval of the product and the awards won, nationally and internationally. The safety and quality criteria of QMA are identified by legislation and for these to be met, it is necessary that the production process is established with Good Manufacturing Practices, even for rural properties, and it is important to identify and characterize the predominant microbiota of the production site, whether typical and desired or atypical and unwanted. A contribution to QMA's diverse microbiota is the wooden maturation board. The material is hygroscopic, rough, and promotes moisture exchange between the cheese and its structure, helping to acquire the product's characteristics. Therefore, the objective of this work was to characterize the bacterial diversity of the boards used for the maturation of QMA in the Campo das Vertentes microregion, from two properties registered by the Instituto Mineiro de Agropecuária, as well as the influence of the ambience and structure of maturation on the typical microbiota and atypical of QMA. The microbiological profile of the products was determined, identifying 373 isolates and 61 species of different microorganisms. The maturation boards reflected part of the contaminating microorganisms identified in the cheeses, when it came to the genus staphylococci, as well as there was a greater correlation with the cheeses, of isolates identified from the boards belonging to the yeast class and some fungi. Maturation proved to be efficient in reducing the count of microorganisms, such as mesophilic aerobes, as well as influencing the parameters of the proximate analysis. The quality of the environmental air tended to be reflected in the microbial count of the cheese, and in these analyses, the environmental microbiota was more influenced by the rainy season than by the dry period.