Microbiological quality of "doce de leite" sold in the south of Minas Gerais.

Innovative dulce de leche made by sheep’s milk with and without the addition of sheep’s milk cream

“…The increase in the counting of this group after 150 days of storage might be associated with a process of deterioration, since these products were stored at room temperature, with favorable conditions for the growth of mesophilic microorganisms (Forsythe, 2013). High counts of these microorganisms were also found in bovine dulce de leche in Lavras, MG (Southeast of Brazil), with an average count of 5.86 log CFU/g (Oliveira et al, 2012) as well as for sweetened condensed milk samples, ranging from 1.0 and 6.2 log CFU/g (Renhe et al, 2017). Although Brazilian legislation does not set limits for this microbial class in dulce de leche, monitoring of total mesophilic aerobes provides information on product contamination and may assist in defining the shelf life of a new product (Forsythe, 2013).…”

“…Previous work on goat dulce de leche, with or without whey (Agibert, 2013), have found mold and yeast counts lower than 2.0 log CFU/g allowed. On the other hand, counts above 3.0 log CFU/g were reported in bovine dulce de leche marketed in Lavras, MG (Southeast of Brazil) (Oliveira et al, 2012). In some of these formulations, the low counts for mold and yeast may have been influenced by the addition of preservatives allowed in the preparation of dulce de leche (Brasil, 2010), considered the factor responsible for controlling the presence of fungi in dulce de leche formulated with or without sucrose (Milagres et al, 2010).…”

“…Water activity results in sheep dulce de leche (Figure 1A) showed values from 0.71 to 0.82, which are limiting for pathogenic and some spoilage microorganisms, but the increase in sugar concentration would only inactivate microbial multiplication in Aw below 0.70 (Forsythe, 2013). The quantification of molds and yeasts, above the values allowed by legislation may indicate flaws in the processing and demonstrated how easy it is for fungi to grow in foods with low water activity, with potential risk to consumer health, since many fungi species produce mycotoxins (Oliveira et al, 2012;Forsythe, 2013). The preparation of DOC and DWC involved pasteurization and cooling of raw materials, concentration by addition of sugar and heat, and the use of good processing practices.…”

“…The preparation of DOC and DWC involved pasteurization and cooling of raw materials, concentration by addition of sugar and heat, and the use of good processing practices. All these processes help in the prevention and conservation of food, with destruction of pathogenic bacteria and reduction of microbial load (Oliveira et al, 2012;Forsythe, 2013). under storage at room temperature.…”