Verificación de metodologías microbiológicas aplicadas al control de calidad de los productos “vaso kola” y “chococono” en la Empresa Cremhelado Meals S.A.

Abstract

The methodologies employed in the quality control of food intended for human consumption, require a performance verification to determine their adequacy and, therefore, provide support to the established control results. To verify the performance of the microbiological methodologies applied in the routine control of the finished product in the production plant of Crem Helado Meals SA, an evaluation process of the quantitative (plate counting) and qualitative (absence/presence) methods used in the quality control of water-based ice cream (Vaso Kola) and cream-based ice cream (Chococono) was carried out. The results obtained allowed determining that the plate counting methodologies for the isolation of Enterobacteriaceae, E. coli, and S. aureus meet the established acceptance criteria, except for a slight variation in the recovery obtained by the methodology for the Enterobacteriaceae isolation in ice cream. The enzyme-linked fluorescence assay (ELFA) method proved to be suitable for the detection of Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes, provided that the methodology is performed rigorously, and its positive results are rectified by other methodologies, such as selective and differential culture media.