Investigating the influence of Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) on microbial diversity of Canastra cheeses and their processing environments

Abstract

Canastra Cheese is one of the most commercialized artisanal cheeses in Brazil and intrinsic characteristics of its production, such as the use of raw milk and natural whey starter cultures as well short ripening time on wooden shelves, offer risk of contamination by a plethora of microorganisms. Here, we used 16 S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing approach to characterize the bacterial communities from Canastra cheese processing environments and final products, accessing cheesemaking facilities with distinct profiles of Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS), in order to estimate whether differences in microbial composition and diversity could also be observed between the two sampled groups of facilities. Our results revealed that the diversity of bacterial communities in the processing environments was much higher than that observed for cheeses, with greater discrepancy for facilities with inadequate FSMS. Additionally, in facilities with inadequate FSMS the bacterial communities from environments, especially hand surfaces and ripening wooden shelves, were similar to those during processing and finished cheese. These evidences highlight the importance of implementing and maintaining FSMS in the facilities, in order to assure quality and safety of Canastra cheese, but also the stability and economic viability of the Canastra cheese production chain.