Minas artisanal cheese is the best known and most consumed type of cheese in Brazil. Prepared with raw bovine milk and starter cultures, these cheeses face many opportunities for post-processing contamination during their transport to commercial establishments as well as in how they are stored, displayed, and maintained for cutting/slicing at retail establishments. It is a common practice for retailers to purchase entire cheeses from the producers, cut them into smaller pieces for retail sale, and store them at room temperature instead of properly refrigerating them. This study evaluated the microbiological safety parameters of samples of Minas artisanal cheeses collected at retail establishments in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, to more realistically assess consumer exposure to the most common pathogens. Samples were submitted for investigation of Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, and the counts of total coliforms, Escherichia coli, and coagulase-positive enterotoxigenic staphylococci using culture and real-time PCR methods. A worrisome number of samples failed to comply with the current Brazilian legislation for foods in retail environments and presented more than one non-compliance issue. Results highlighted that quality and safety management tools, such as good hygiene practices and HACCP, in retail environments deserve more attention to reduce the possible risks to consumer health.

Staphylococcus aureus is a common contaminant in artisanal raw-milk cheeses. Tolerance of S. aureus to biocides is a threat to disinfection in the cheese production environment, while antibiotic resistance and enterotoxin production are additional health concerns. This study aimed to evaluate the tolerance of S. aureus isolated from Minas artisanal cheeses to the biocides benzalkonium chloride, hexadecylpyridinium chloride, cetrimide, triclosan, hexachlorophene, and chlorhexidine, and the simultaneous occurrence of genes coding for antibiotic resistance (mecA, aacA-aphD, and tetK), efflux pumps [qacA/B and smr (qacC/D)], and enterotoxins (sea, seb, sec, sed, see, seg, seh, sei, and sej). Among the tested isolates, 38.2% were resistant to at least one biocide, and 73.1% were positive for one or more antibiotic resistance gene. Most of the biocide-tolerant and antibiotic-resistant isolates harbored efflux pump genes, and were positive for at least one staphylococcal enterotoxin gene. The study highlights the need for correct hygiene monitoring programs to ensure the safety of these products.