Microscopic quality indicators of minas frescal cheese

Thirty samples of fresh minas-type cheese from 10 commercial brands, all registered in the Brazilian Food Sanitary Inspection, were submitted to microscopic analyses carried out in triplicate for each brand. 100.0% of the samples presented foreign matter and filth, including, in greater amounts, burnt matter (32.4%) and synthetic (5.5%) and vegetable (2.6%) material fragments and, in smaller amounts, sand grains, macroscopic fragment of synthetic origin and human hair (<1.0%). 2 (20.0%) commercial brands being presented rodent hairs, being classified as unsuitable for human consumption, due to its the association of these with foodborne diseases. The results showed the need for the adoption of quality assurance systems such as Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Standard Sanitary Operational Procedures (SSOP) in order to offer safe products to the consumers, apart from reinforcing official inspection visits to the production units. They also reinforced the importance of using food microscopy as a quality control tool in food processing.