Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate some microbiological and physical-chemical characteristics of fermented milk beverages collected at the main supermarkets in Belo Horizonte (MG). 40 samples of the products corresponding to five distinct brands were collected. They were submitted to the following analyses: Most Probable Number (MPN) of total (30ºC) and thermal tolerant coliforms (45ºC), Salmonella spp., coagulase positive Staphylococcus, molds and yeasts, lactic acid bacteria, pH, titratable acidity and contents of moisture, total solids, protein and fat. The analyses were carried out during the last week of shelf life. The microbiological quality of the samples was good and the counts of lactic bacteria were above the minimum established by the official legislation. Streptococcus and Lactobacillus were isolated and identified from the products and Lactobacillus delbrueckii was molecularly identified in three samples. The mean values for the contents of fat and protein, titratable acidity, pH, moisture and total solids ranged from 1.24 to 1.98%; 1.88 to 2.22%; 0.54 to 0.66%; 3.91 to 4.16; 81.18 to 83.25% and 16.75 to 18.82%, respectively. All samples had protein content in agreement with the official legislation.
Highlights
Milk beverages are resulted from the mixture of milk and whey added or not with other food items, vegetal fat, fermented milk and other milk products, besides lactic starter cultures
One sample (2.5%) of fermented milk beverage was contaminated by total coliforms with a Most Probable Number (MPN) of 0.3/mL
MPN/mL of thermal tolerant coliforms was lower than 0.3 in all samples. Those results point out the appropriate sanitary hygienic quality during the processing and storage of the analyzed fermented milk beverages, with microbiological quality in compliance with the official Brazilian legislation (Brasil, 2005)
Summary
Milk beverages are resulted from the mixture of milk (in natura, pasteurized, sterilized, UHT, reconstituted, concentrated, powder, whole, partially skimmed or skimmed ) and whey (liquid, concentrated or powder) added or not with other food items, vegetal fat, fermented milk and other milk products, besides lactic starter cultures. Milk basis must represent at least 51% (m/m) of the total ingredients present in the product. A milk beverage is classified as fermented when the mixture milk: whey is added with specific starter microorganisms and/or with fermented milk (Brasil, 2005). Fermented milk beverages have lower pH than milk, and metabolites produced by lactic acid bacteria inhibit the growth of undesirable microorganisms. Some of those microorganisms are able to survive in this type of product when there are contaminations during the processing and storage. It is very important that fermented milk beverages present microbiological quality according to the official legislation (Brasil, 2005)
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