Produção de queijo Minas Frescal no Brasil: uma revisão geral sobre aspectos tecnológicos, legislação, qualidade e inovação

Abstract

Minas Frescal cheese is one of the most consumed cheeses in Brazil, manufactured throughout the national territory by large industries and small family and artisanal units. This type of cheese is highly susceptible to microbial contamination because it requires a lot of manipulation in its production process. It is a fresh cheese with high water activity and a pH of around 6.3 to 6.6. The quality of the raw materials, good manufacturing practices, and the correct use of production technology are decisive for the final quality of the cheese, its physical-chemical, microbiological, and sensory attributes. The consumer market's demand for safer, healthier, and more functional food drives the industry to strive for compliance standards required by law and the research institutes to search for technological innovations. Thus, this study aimed to carry out a bibliographical review regarding the production of Minas Frescal Cheese in Brazil, covering regulatory aspects, manufacturing process, physicalchemical and microbiological quality, as well as quality improvement strategies and innovations for the production of this cheese. For this, a search for publications was carried out in the Scielo, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Science Direct databases. Sixty-five publications were selected from 2001 to 2020 relating to Minas Frescal Cheese. Of this total, 13 studies evaluated the physicochemical attributes of 653 Minas Frescal cheese samples from different regions of Brazil. Regarding the moisture content, about 8.8% of the evaluated samples were in disagreement with the legislation, while 24.6% did not fit the established standard for the content of Fat in the Dry Extract (GES). Regarding the microbiological characteristics, 41 analyzed studies evaluated 1931 QMF samples, with more than half of them (n≥1030) in disagreement with at least one of the microbiological criteria. A total of 1,007 (52.1%) and 809 (36.7%) of the samples evaluated in these areas had counts higher than those allowed for total coliforms and thermotolerant coliforms, respectively. About 16.1% of the evaluated samples were found to have E. coli counts above the limits allowed by law, as well as 43% of the analyzed samples for S. aureus counts. Microbiological analyses also showed that 16.3% and 18.6% of the samples had Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp., respectively. This review found 17 publications with studies about technological innovations in QMF production. These studies showed promising results with the use of antimicrobial substances, microorganisms, and other technologies to improve the quality and safety of cheeses. However, new research must be carried out to demonstrate the efficiency and harmlessness of these innovations, aiming at their potential insertion in QMF production technology. The data obtained in this study show the importance of applying Good Manufacturing Practices in Minas Frescal cheese manufacturing and the search for innovations to minimize the risks to consumer health and improve the cheese quality.