Quality of handmade milk cream

The quality and food safety are important issues nowadays. In this context, the present work aimed to evaluate the microbiological and physico-chemical of handmade milk creams, known as cream of the backlands. Thus, samples of creams of the hinterland acquired thirty merchants of Rio Grande do Norte. These samples were subjected to microbiological analysis: standard plate count of mesophilic aerobic micro-organisms, Staphylococcus aureus and determination of the most probable number (MPN) of total and fecal coliforms, and physicochemical analysis of titratable acidity content fat and moisture. It was found that all samples were outside the legal standards in mesophilic count, where the values were greater than 105 CFU / g. A percentage of 90% of the creams milk showed high counts of S. aureus above those permitted by legislation (maximum 102 CFU / g). The acidity was above the allowed 90% of creams evaluated. Thus, the cream produced by hand showed low microbiological and physicalchemical, so its consumption may cause health risks to the consumer