ABNORMAL CONTAMINATION OF COTTAGE CHEESE IN EGYPT

Chemical analyses revealed that cottage cheese is poor in organic matt er and is rich in soluble salts. Na was generally high, K and Ca were moderate, whereas, Mn, Cu, Cd and Ni were detected in low concentratio ns. pH value was generally alkaline. Two genera of bacteria (Bacillus and Staphylococcus) in addition to Gram negative bacteria were detecte d. Bacillus was the most dominant. Thirty-five fungal species, which b elonged to 9 genera, were detected on two isolation media (29 species belonging to 8 genera on glucose-Czapek's and 20 species belonging to 4 genera on 7.5% NaCl glucose-Czapek's agar). Aspergillus (12 and 6 sp ecies) and Penicillium (10 and 6) were the dominant genera on the two isolation media, respectively. Eurotium (6 species) was detected on ha lophilic medium only. Based on HPLC analysis, histamine was detected i n all the 20 samples of cottage cheese (3170.8 mug g-1), of which 15 s amples contained a high value (4207.7 +/- 684.8 mug g-1). Aflatoxins B 1 and B2 (104 and 89 mug kg-1) were identified in two samples, whereas , ochratoxin A and B (112 mug kg-1) in one sample only.