Avalia indicadores microbiológicos da qualidade higiênico-sanitária do caldo de cana comercializado na cidade de Curitiba. Os indicadores de contaminação utilizados foram: contagem de bactérias coliformes totais, fecais e estreptococos fecais. Foram analisadas 100 amostras de 50 pontos diferentes do centro e bairros da Cidade e constatado que estes pontos apresentavam em pelo menos uma das amostras, contagem máxima de coliformes totais.

The microbiological quality of 10 spices or herbs was determined by a national survey at the retail level. Aerobic plate count values for the 10 products ranged from <100 to 3.1 x 108 per g; mean values of the individual spices or herbs ranged from 1,400 to 820,000 per g. Coliform counts ranged from <3 to 1.1 x 106 per g; however, mean values were <20 per g for all products. Escherichia coli counts ranged from <3 to 2,300 per g. Except for celery seed, which had a mean value of 7 per g, all mean values were <3 per g. Yeast and mold counts were made for 5 of the 10 products. Mean values were generally low; the highest mean (290 per g) was obtained for cinnamon.

A survey was made of the microbiological quality of seven frozen, breaded, precooked fish and shellfish products and of frozen, breaded, uncooked shrimp at the retail level. Geometric mean aerobic plate counts per gram (and number of units examined) were as follows:

Duplicate samples of crab and crabmeat (body meat and claw meat) were collected four times a day for two consecutive days at seven in-line locations (plus finished product claw and body meat) along the processing lines of 47 crabmeat plants located along the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States. All the plants adhered to Good Manufacturing Practice, as determined by visual inspection. Two sanitation inspections and sample collections were conducted at 5-month intervals to reflect seasonal variation. In all, 8,477 in-line samples and 2,459 finished product units of blue crab and crabmeat and 522 in-line samples and 128 finished product units of red crab and Maine crab and crabmeat were analyzed microbiologically. Geometric mean aerobic plate count at 35°C (APC 35) values increased from 1,200 CFU/g before pick to 20,000 CFU/g in the finished product (body meat). For claw meat, APC 35 values increased from 15,000 CFU/g before pick to 24,000 CFU/g in the finished product. Aerobic plate count at 30°C (APC 30) values were consistently higher (2-fold or less) than APC 35 values. Coliform counts in both finished products were ≥19/g in approximately 60% of the units. Coliforms exceeded 500/g in 3.8 and 3.2% of the finished product units for body meat and claw meat, respectively. Geometric mean Escherichia coli counts were &lt;3 for all sample sites and finished products, with only 3.3 and 2.7% of the units showing detectable E. coli for body meat and claw meat, respectively. Geometric mean values for Staphylococcus aureus were 16.8/g for finished body meat and 16.0/g for finished claw meat; approximately 20% of the units of both finished products had S. aureus values &gt;100/g. S. aureus counts increased significantly after picking.

The microbiological quality of dry-milk mixes and milk substitute infant formulas at the retail level was determined by a national survey of 1,574 analytical units. The geometric mean values for aerobic plate counts of milk-containing and milk substitute infant formulas were 25 and 52/g, respectively. The mean value for Staphylococcus aureus and for coliform organisms was <3/g. Each unit had an Escherichia coli most-probable-number value of <3/g.