91 soft cheeses nominally made from raw milk were examined concerning
the content of coliforms, E. coli and Listeria sop. The activity of al
kaline phosphatase suggested that only 46 % of 69 french soft cheeses
were made from raw milk, while two of 22 german cheeses were made from
pasteurized milk. With regard to the EC-hygienic standard 92/46, 69 %
of the french cheeses made from pasteurized milk had coliform counts
above 10(4)/g and 53 % above the maximum tolerable number of 10(5)/g.
The number of 10(2) E. coli/g was exceeded by 16 % of the cheeses, and
the maximum tolerable number of 10(3) E. coli/g by 12 %. 31 % of the
french samples made from raw milk had more than 10(4) E. coli/g, and 3
% more than 10(5) E. coli/g. In contrast, 45 % of the german cheeses
made from raw milk exceeded the limit for E. coli and 40 % of the samp
les exceeded the maximum tolerable cell count. Out of 32 french cheese
s made from raw milk L. monocytogenes was recovered from 15 cheeses an
d L. innocua from 13 cheeses. In contrast, L. monocytogenes was recove
red from 3 and L. innocua from 5 out of 32 french cheeses made from pa
steurized milk. We found L. monocytogenes and L. innocua in 2 out of 2
2 german cheeses. The hygienic state of some soft cheeses examined was
critical. On the other hand some cheeses showed that it is possible t
o obtain a satisfactory hygienic quality of raw milk soft cheese, acco
rding to the EC-hygienic standard 92/46.