Microbiological analysis of kefir in the context of food safety

Food safety is about ensuring food hygiene throughout the production chain, from raw material to final consumer; it is the responsibility of all those involved in the food chain and ensures that the risk of contamination is minimised or eliminated. Food hygiene control is essential for any product. Neglect of hygiene rules during production, handling of raw material, unconditional infestation of raw material can lead to the introduction of undesirable microorganisms into products, which can affect the psycho-sensory, physico-chemical and microbiological aspects of products. Microbiological analysis is closely related to food safety. Ignoring this index can lead to serious illnesses in the population and can have a serious impact on the food industry. The aim of this work is the microbiological analysis of kefir, checking the presence of pathogenic bacteria HG 158 and verifying the information on the labels in accordance with the LAW No. 279 of 15-12-2017 on consumer information on food products. The microbiological analysis did not detect pathogenic bacteria, which proves that producers who have implemented the quality management system provide consumers with safe products.