Effect of gamma radiation on the resistance of Staphylococcus aureus (Rosembach, 1884) and in the physical-chemical and sensory properties of 'minas frescal' cheese

Among food poisoning of microbial origin, S. aureus stands as one of the most important, being a pathogenic bacteria for as human kind and of important occurrence in food products. Although 'Minas Frescal' cheese is typically Brazilian, there aren't in this country technical rules for its preparation and appropriate inspection. In the present work the effect of gamma radiation on the resistance of S. aureus and its ability to produce toxins in 'Minas Frescal' cheese were evaluated. The effects of the radiation in 'Minas Frescal' cheese physical-chemical and sensory properties will be determined, with the objective of studying the efficiency of the gamma radiation as method of conservation of this product. During the fabrication of 'Minas Frescal' cheese in the Laboratory of Irradiation of Foods (CENA/USP), S. aureus strains (ATCC 13565, ATCC 14458, ATCC 19095) with approximate count of 106 UFC/ml were inoculated. After irradiation with doses of O(control); 1; 2; 3 and 4 kGy, the cheeses were stored under refrigeration (+- 5 deg C) and analyzed at 1, 7 and 14 days. After irradiation with doses of O(control); 1; 2; 3 and 4 kGy, the cheeses were stored under refrigeration (+- 5 deg C) and analyzed at 1,7 and 14 days. 'Minas Frescal' cheese was evaluated through the determination of parameters of acidity, pH, moisture and lever of extension proteolysis, according to methodology of Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AO.AC.),1995, and sensory analysis by the ADQ (Quantitative Descriptive Analysis) method. The microbiological analysis determined the survival of S. aureus in the Baird-Parker a selective medium and its ability of producing enterotoxin by the Passive Reverse Agglutination with Latex method. the results analyzed through randomized blocks in a factorial design (5x3), revealed that 'Minas Frescal' cheese did not present significant differences among the radiation doses in relation to its physical-chemical and sensory properties. Dose of 3 kGy was sufficient to completely destroy S. aureus and its enterotoxin production was inhibited with doses above 2 kGy. From the results obtained in this work, we can conclude that doses between 2 and 3 kGy they are suitable for the destruction of S. aureus and that these level of radiation do not interfere in the physical-chemical and sensory properties of the product. Hence gamma radiation can be considered efficient as a method of conservation of 'Minas Frescal' cheese. (author)