Resumo

Dairy beverages are obtained from milk and its serum, different ingredients may be added to improve taste, color and aroma. These beverages are very appreciated by consumers and might represent an important issue to public health because of the microbiological contamination rates of milk and dairy products. Therefore, this work was aimed at evaluating the microbiological quality of dairy beverages obtained from a particular milk industry in Rio Grande do Norte. Nine samples of fermented dairy beverages were analyzed. They had different flavors and were acquired from a milk industry in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, in 2012. Samples within the expiration date were transported under refrigeration and still in the original packaging to the Animal Products Inspection Laboratory (LIPOA) at Universidade Federal Rural do Semiárido (UFERSA). The liquid content was homogenized with the packaging still closed, which was then aseptically opened in a laminar flow cabinet. From each sample 25 g was weighted and added to 225 ml of 0.1% peptone water. The dilution achieved corresponded to a 10-1 dilution, from which were other decimal dilutions were obtained up to 10-3. The samples were then submitted to the techniques recommended by the Normative Instruction nº 62 from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply to verify MPN of thermotolerant coliforms and Salmonella spp. There was absence of thermotolerant coliforms and Salmonella spp in all samples analyzed, therefore this data is compliant with Brazillian law. According to current legislation fermented dairy beverages should not present any pathogenic microorganisms or ones that may cause physical, chemical, and organoleptic changes to the products characteristics, under normal storage conditions. The absence of the searched microorganisms may be indicative of good sanitary practices during the production of these beverages, which can be considered suitable for human consumption.