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A diagnosis of the microbiological quality of dehydrated bee‐pollen produced in Brazil
Author(s) -
DeMelo A.A.M.,
Estevinho M.L.M.F.,
AlmeidaMuradian L.B.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
letters in applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.698
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1472-765X
pISSN - 0266-8254
DOI - 10.1111/lam.12480
Subject(s) - food spoilage , biology , bee pollen , salmonella , food science , microbiology and biotechnology , pollen , context (archaeology) , bacteria , botany , paleontology , genetics
Bee‐pollen is an apicultural product with potential for medical and nutritional applications; therefore, its microbiology quality should be monitored. In this context, the objective of this study was to diagnose the microbiological quality of 45 dehydrated bee‐pollen samples collected from November 2011 to December 2013 in nine Brazilian States. All the samples were negative for sulphite‐reducing Clostridium spores, Salmonella , coagulase‐positive Staphylococcus and Escherichia coli , which are micro‐organisms of public health concern. Total aerobic mesophilic micro‐organism counts ranged from <10 to 1·10 × 10 4 CFU g −1 , with psychrotroph counts ranging from <10 to 1·12 × 10 3 CFU g −1 and total coliforms from <10 to 2·80 × 10 3 CFU g −1 , while the values for yeasts and moulds were between <10 to 7·67 × 10 3 CFU g −1 . According to the literature, the microbiota observed in this study were typical; however, it is important to consider that these micro‐organisms may cause spoilage and diminish shelf life, reason by which quality control programs should be implemented. Significance and Impact of the Study Contamination of bee‐pollen can occur during production, collection and processing, but there are few studies of the microbiological quality of this product. Brazil is an important producer of dehydrated bee‐pollen, therefore, a diagnosis of the microbiological status is important to ensure the safety of many consumers. Salmonella sp., genus Clostridium , coagulase‐positive Staphylococcus , Escherichia coli and even some yeast species are micro‐organisms of public health concern and their presence must be monitored. Furthermore, the determination of spoilage micro‐organisms indicates whether the production and the processing practices carried out by beekeepers and warehouses were adequate.