Microbiological evaluation of artisanal sausage produced buffalo on Marajó Island, Pará, Brazil

Abstract

The handmade buffalo sausage is a food typically marajoara, which falls under the frescal sausage class. Its manufacturing process involves microbiological risk factors related to their intrinsic characteristics and external factors such as improper handling, lack of hygienic care, and inadequate heat treatment. Thus, the present study aims to analyze the microbiological quality of handmade buffalo sausage, developed and commercialized in the cities of Soure (Sample L. S) and Cachoeira do Arari (Sample L. CA), on the Island of Marajó, Pará. Were held microbiological analysis of Total Coliforms, Coliforms thermotolerant, Staphylococcus aureus, standard count mesophilic aerobic bacteria and fungi count filamentous and yeast. The microbiological determinations were performed in triplicate and following the official methods of the American Public Health Association. According to the microbiological results, the two samples tested showed maximum values (> 1.100 MPN/g) for total and fecal coliforms. The levels of Staphylococcus aureus (5.7 x 104 CFU/g for sample L. S and 3.8 x 103 CFU/g for sample L. CA) were close to the limit allowed by law. The same also showed high contamination by mesophilic aerobic bacteria and filamentous fungi and yeasts. Thus, it can be said that samples of buffalo handmade sausages are outside the microbiological standards for fresh pork sausage as raw and similar sausages, thus indicating failure hygienic-sanitary control in their development process.