MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY OF CEBRERO CHEESE FROM NORTHWEST SPAIN

Cebrero cheese is traditionally manufactured from raw cow's milk in th e Cebrero mountains of Galicia (NW Spain), We report determinations of pH and a(W) and counts of total aerobic bacteria, psychrotrophs, Ente robacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, coagulase-positive Staphylococcus au reus, Listeria, molds and yeasts, in 49 samples. E. coli count exceede d the level permitted by Spanish legislation in 51% of samples. S. aur eus count exceeded the level permitted in 20% of the samples. In one s ample, with pH 5.06, two species of Listeria (L. monocytogenes and L. seeligeri) were detected. Although the pH of this cheese is fairly low , it does not appear to be sufficient to prevent the occurrence of cer tain pathogenic microorganisms.