Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen that can cause serious invasive disease in humans. Because human listeriosis cases have previously been linked to consumption of contaminated cheese, control of this pathogen throughout the cheese production chain is of particular concern. To understand the potential for L. monocytogenes transmission via São Jorge cheese, a Portuguese artisanal che...

The present work was aimed to define and validate farmstead production of lactose-free Pecorino di Osilo cheese, fresh ricotta cheese, and salted and smoked ricotta cheese (Ricotta mustia). The enzymatic activity of the commercial preparation containing lactase (1.1 g/mL), preliminarily tested using a spectrophotometric titration, showed activity equal to 4950±40 neutral lactase unit/g. The amo...

On October 1, 2014, children and staff members at a Swiss boarding school consumed Tomme, a soft cheese produced from raw cow milk. Within the following 7h, all 14 persons who ingested the cheese fell ill, including 10 children and 4 staff members. Symptoms included abdominal pain and violent vomiting, followed by severe diarrhea and fever. We aim to present this food poisoning outbreak and cha...

Coxiella burnetii is common causative agent of Q fever in humans and animals. Although the main route of human infection is through inhalation of contaminated aerosols (dust), but oral transmission through contaminated raw milk and dairy products are also possible routes of infection. The aim of this study was to identify and determine the extent of contamination and prevalence of Coxiella burn...

As in the traditional production of cheese in lambskin sacks raw cow's or sheep's milk is mostly used, the purpose of this study is to see how the production affects the microbiological quality of the cheese. To do that, we tested 39 samples of raw cow's and sheep's milk, curd, ripened cheese (15, 30 and 45 days) and lambskin sacks for native microbial population. Two-thirds of the milk, curd a...

Bifidobacteria are well known for their beneficial effects on health and are used as probiotics in food and pharmaceutical products. As they form one of the most important groups in both human and animal feces, their use as fecal indicator organisms in raw milk products has recently been proposed. Bifidobacteria species isolated in humans are different from those isolated in animals. It should ...

Contrary to the safe practices of milk pasteurization or sterilization, which effectively reduce foodborne outbreaks incidence associated with raw milk and dairy products use, outbreaks caused by such products continue to occur. Despite this fact, a worldwide movement advocating for the rights of raw milk and cheese selling and consumption, due to their specific nutritive characteristics, has s...

Milk quality criteria and limits for somatic cell count (SCC) established in many countries make it difficult to maintain SCC of bulk tank goat milk below the threshold, due to non infection factors linked to goat physiology. The aim of this study was to objectively verify the effects of SCC on fresh caprine milk cheese. Somatic cells were recovered from pooled healthy goat milk, and added to l...

In the present study, a microbiological challenge test in artificially contaminated raw milk Pecorino Umbro cheese during cheese-making was carried out. Raw ewe milk was contaminated by a suspension of particular Listeria monocytogenes strains. The number of L. monocytogenes and L. monocytogenes dynamic growth were evaluated during cheese-making and storage. A significant decrease of the viable...