Behaviour of Listeria monocytogenes inoculated into Minas Frescal cheese made by direct acidification or lactic culture during refrigerated storage

The behaviour of Listeria monocytogenes Scott A artificially inoculated into Brazilian Minas Frescal cheese manufactured with the addition of a lactic culture or by direct acidification with lactic acid was evaluated at 5 and 10 degrees C for 25 days. In cheese produced with a lactic culture, the counts remained almost unchanged during storage, whereas cheeses produced by direct acidification presented an increase in the counts of 2-3 log cycles. The profiles of the lactic bacterial counts, associated with those of L. monocytogenes, show a strong influence of the competitive starter culture on the survival of L. monocytogenes. This suggests that the addition of starter culture is an efficient way to control the growth of L. monocytogenes in these products.62336136