Microscopic analysis of “minas frescal” cheese sold in city of Londrina-PR

Cheese are considered highly perishable foods, so it must be produced with raw materials of good quality, subject to an efficient quality control, besides their transport, storage and marketing appropriate to avoid vehiculation of diseases. The presence of impurities in food may be indicative of neglect at some point in the process, moreover, the insects and mites can act as backers of microbiological contaminants such as fungi, bacteria, viruses, protozoa and helminths. This study aimed to verify the hygienic conditions of Minas frescal type cheese sold in food markets in the city of Londrina-PR, according to the nature and amount of foreign material (dirt) present. Twenty samples of cheese were washed with kerosene and filtered on filter paper, whose content was analyzed retained a standard optical microscope (increased 400 times). The results showed that 100% of the samples contained at least one type of foreign matter, demonstrating poor hygienic quality. These date showed that is important to monitor these products since they can be vehicles of diseases, endangering the health of consumers.