A Review for Cheese Microbial Risk Assessments (original) (raw)

2015, Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences

European Union (Kousta et al., 2010). Many of these foodborne outbreaks were a result of contamination with Staphylococcus aureus, and this was not surprising as S. aureus often causes mastitis in cows, leading to milk contamination (Rabello et al., 2007). Additionally, in the USA, S. aureus and Listeria monocytogenes were isolated from unpasteurized soft cheese on sale in California, which was smuggled into the USA from Mexico in 2010 (MDA, 2010). This implication may have resulted from the properties of soft cheese like the high water activity and low acidity as well as improper sanitation that is common route for pathogenic bacteria to contaminate the cheese during cheese-making process (Gould et al., 2014). Further, L. monocytogenes was often found in soft cheese, which has high moisture content: 67% of moisture on a fat-free basis or ≥50% of moisture content (Codex, 2000; FDA, 2012a). This data suggest that cheese may pose a significant risk to consumers (Janštovă et al., 2014). Given this picture, strict guidelines have been established to control foodborne pathogens in cheese, especially for L. monocytogenes (FDA, 2003; EFSA/ECDC, 2011). For instance, for cheese with an Open Access Asian Australas. J. Anim. Sci.