Physico-chemical and microbiological evaluation of artisanal cheeses made from cow’s milk in the agreste region of Paraíba state

The aim of this study was to evaluate the physicochemical and microbiological characteristics of rennet cheese and butter cheese produced by hand from cow’s milk in Paraiba. The study was carried out using 24 cheese samples, six samples per city (three rennet cheeses and three butter cheeses), in which physicochemical analyses were carried out to determine the nutritional composition of the samples and microbiological analyses to quantify enterobacteria and Escherichia coli. In this study, only samples without inspection records (federal, state, and/or municipal) were used. Around 80% of the premises had hygiene problems, such as a lack of proper cleaning and poor facilities. Only 20% maintained hygienic handling, while all the sites took care of personal protective equipment such as uniforms, masks, and caps. The values of the physicochemical parameters varied between the cities, with moisture contents ranging from 47.12 to 61.27% for rennet cheeses and from 38.13 to 57.44% for butter cheeses between the cities evaluated. The detection of E. coli at around 17% highlighted the importance of adopting strict quality control and hygiene measures at all stages of the production of dairy products in order to guarantee safe, high-quality end products. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the curd and butter cheeses produced by hand in four cities in Paraíba face challenges related to hygiene and sanitation, infrastructure, and inadequate handling in the shops.