Hygienical Survey on Seasoned Ricotta Produced in Alpine Dairies in Northern-Italy with Focus on Pink Discoloration due to Serratia Spp.-Juniper Publishers
JUNIPER PUBLISHERS - OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL OF DAIRY & VETERINARY SCIENCES Abstract This study stems from the need to clarify the onset of pink discoloration on seasoned crust ricotta, produced in a dairy farm in the valley bottom of Val Gerola (Valtellina, Sondrio) in particular during the summer season. The isolation and the identification of the colonies from the spoiled product showed the presence of Serratia spp. A first environmental sampling on cheese making and seasoning facilities and molds, conducted in the dairy farm involved, showed the presence of Serratia spp. also on the board of the cold storage cell and in the refrigerator. In a second stage, environmental samplings were conducted in nine dairies producing seasoned ricotta, with the aim to highlight the presence of Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, Enterobacteriaceae, VTEC and Serratia spp. Results obtained showed absence of VTEC and Salmonella spp. In only one dairy L. monoc...