Abstract:
Mozzarella cheese is an essential component of the human diet all over the world.
It provides all these essential nutrients required for the growth of the body.
Limited study in Bahir Dar City on the microbial quality of mozzarella cheese
among small-scale milk processor sectors. Therefore this study aimed to; assess
the microbial quality of
Mozzarella cheese among small scale milk processing sectors. The study involved
a laboratory -based from April 2014 to June 2015. A total of 90 Mozzarella chees
e samples were collected from nine small-scale milk processing plants and the mi
crobiologically quality of mozzarella cheese was examined. Data were analysed u
sing statistical packages for social science (SPSS) 18.0.The mean count of APC, S
.aureus count, yeast and mould count, E.coli count and TCC Mozzarella cheese w
ere 33.3%, 77.7%, 66.6%, 22.3% and 33.3% of above the limit sets by Europe leg
islation respectively. Contamination of E.coli and S.aures was 7.7 % (6/90), and 1
3.3% (12/90) in the mozzarella cheese sample.However, Salmonella was not detec
ted. In conclusion, it was shown that the hygienic quality of mozzarella cheese wa
s low and did not meet European standards except Salmonella. These results need
applying training on hygienic practices in small-scale milk processing to minimiz
e microbial contamination.
Keywords: mozzarella cheese, microbial, food safety and quality