MICROBIOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF PICANTE-DA-BEIRA-BAIXA CHEESE

Ninety cheeses of the type Picante da Beira Baixa (a hard, highly salt ed, and spicy traditional cheese produced in Portugal from a mixture o f goat's and ewe's milks) were manufactured and analyzed for microbiol ogical quality at different stages of the 180-day ripening period. The most abundant species of Enterobacteriaceae, staphylococci, enterococ ci, lactobacilli, and yeasts found in the Picante cheese were Hafnia a lvei and Serratia liquefaciens; Staphylococcus hominis and S. xylosus; Enteroccus faecium, E. faecalis, and E. durans; Lactobacillus plantar um and L. paracasei; and Debaryomyces hansenii and Yarrowia lipolytica .