Avaliação da qualidade microbiológica de polpas de frutas comercializadas em Sinop-MT

Abstract

Fruit pulps can be contaminated due to failures in the hygiene processes of the manipulator and equipment, utensils and during transportation. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the microbiological quality of fruit pulps marketed in Sinop, MT, by the method of the most probable number (NMP) for total coliforms at 45 C, Escherichia coli and Fungi Count. We analyzed 15 samples consisting of 5 flavors of fruit pulp from 3 different brands. They are: grape, strawberry, cashew, guava, pineapple-mint. All samples were analyzed in duplicates. All samples showed contamination by filamentous fungi with counting ranging from 5.0x101 to 1.0x103 CFU/g. As for the presence of total coliforms, AND 45 °C only the pineapple flavor of all brands analyzed showed NMP/g values equal to 43 and 23 respectively. As for contamination by Escherichia coli the samples showed values of NMP/g <3.0. The presence of microorganisms indicators of hygienic conditions such as those of the coliform group warns of the need for good handling and manufacturing practices, ensuring food safety for the frozen pulp market.