Avaliação da qualidade microbiológica do presunto cozido e fatiado e das condições higiênico-sanitário do ambiente industrial.

Abstract

Microbiological control food of animal origin in the industry is an important tool to guarantee an innocuous product delivered to the market. The sliced ham is part of a group of foods classified as ready for consumption that may represent the focus of transmission of various food diseases, since after the slicing process, there is usually no step that can eliminate possible contamination. The objective of this study was to evaluate the hygienic-sanitary conditions of the processing environment and the microbiological quality of the vacuum-packed sliced cooked ham from a portioning industry. In order to evaluate the hygienic-sanitary conditions of the industrial environment, samples of surface swabs from five sites considered critical from the point of view of hygienization (thermoformer mat, slicer belt, knife, claw and drain) were collected. The samples were collected before the beginning of the production of 30 batches of sliced cooked ham, totaling 150 samples, for the analysis of counts of aerobic mesophilic microorganisms, enterobacteria count and Listeria monocytogenes. Thirty samples of sliced baked ham were also collected for the analysis of thermotolerant coliforms, sulfite reducing clostridia, Staphylococcus coagulase positive, and the Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes. In the surface swab analyzes, the median counts of aerobic and enterobacterial mesophilic microorganisms were <1.0 CFU / cm2 and the presence of L. monocytogenes was not detected. Of the 30 ham samples evaluated, all presented results within the standards established by ANVISA RDC No. 12 for analyzes of thermotolerant coliforms, sulfite reducing clostridia and coagulase positive Staphylococcus. However, in the analyzes for Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes, one (3.3%) and eight (26.6%) samples were found positive for these microorganisms, respectively. It was concluded that despite the adoption of quality control procedures and extremely strict hygienization protocols in the production processes, sliced baked ham may contain pathogens that cause foodborne diseases. Therefore, processing environments for ready-to-eat products should receive increased attention from inspection agencies and companies, which should adopt measures in their quality control procedures, such as the establishment of areas restricted to the slicing stage and constant training based on a survey of possible hazards addressed in the HACCP program.