Polish raw milk artisanal cheese may pose a threat to consumer safety due to pathogen presence. The aim of this study was to assess the microbiological safety, quality and physicochemical composition of cow’s and goat’s milk fresh cheeses produced by farmers on a small scale. A total of 62 samples of six cheese types were analyzed for Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., lactic acid bacteria and coliform presence and concentration levels. The physicochemical analysis estimated energy, water, protein, fat, carbohydrate, ash and salt content. The cheeses were also tested for heavy metal contamination. Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. were not detected in any of the samples. Coliforms were present in all the goat’s milk cheeses and only in two of the cow’s milk cheeses. Low levels of cadmium, below 0.008 ppm, were detected in three of the cows’ milk samples. The raw milk cheeses studied were free of the pathogens examined and were of high nutritional value.

In the framework of Quantitative Microbiological Risk Assessment, the estimation of the ingested dose of a hazard by the consumer is of paramount importance. This may be calculated by means of predictive modeling of growth/inactivation of the pathogen studied. For products that spend the majority of their shelf life in the domestic refrigerator, storage temperature will significantly impact the microbial population dynamics. To describe the variability of domestic storage temperatures in Poland, a survey including 77 participants, was carried out in Lodz, Poland. Participants were provided with temperature data loggers, which measured their refrigerator temperature for 24 h in 5-min intervals. The temperature-time profiles were used to calculate the mean working temperature, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values, and the data were statistically analyzed to find the best fitting probability distribution using R programming language. Out of the tested refrigerators, 49.35% had a mean working temperature of over 5 °C and 3.9% exceeded 10 °C. Distribution fitting scenarios were tested for goodness of fit, and the final selected distribution was a truncated normal distribution. This study can prove useful in Monte Carlo simulation analysis for stochastic quantitative food risk assessment in Poland.

Traditional raw milk cheeses are valued for their distinctive sensory properties and microbial richness but may pose microbiological safety risks. The objective of this research was to investigate the bacterial communities present in cheeses sourced from dairies from different regions of one voivodeship using culture-based methods and 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Artisanal Polish “twarog”-type cheeses produced from raw cow’s milk were obtained from four small local dairies in the Łódź Voivodeship. Microbial diversity and safety were assessed by culture-based enumeration following ISO standards and 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing targeting the V3–V4 region. Microbial counts included total viable microorganisms, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Enterobacteriaceae, coagulase-positive staphylococci, yeasts, molds, and pathogens (Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes). Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed among cheeses, with samples ZJ-473 and ZJ-505 showing the highest LAB and total counts, while Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes were undetected. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing revealed dominance of Firmicutes and Proteobacteria, mainly Lactococcus lactis, Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides, and Lactobacillus delbrueckii. Alpha diversity and co-occurrence analyses indicated higher microbial complexity in samples ZJ-473 and ZJ-505. The integration of culture-based and sequencing data provided a comprehensive view of cheese microbiota and safety, confirming the protective role of LAB and emphasizing the need for strict hygiene in artisanal cheese production.

Introduction and objective: Poultry meat is one of the most consume meat worldwide. Customers perceive this kind of product as nutritious and convenient. Although it is considered healthy food, there are wide concerns regarding chemical and biological contaminants. Poultry meat is considered as...

Background. Whey, a waste product from cheese production, is an underutilized raw material with high nutritional value. This waste product may be used in the production of fermented beverages. The aim of this study was to develop an innovative fermented beverage based on whey and fruit vinegar and to determine the survivability of two probiotic strains of lactic acid bacteria. The study included the preparation of individual components, the selection of their appropriate proportions and the verification of the influence of storage conditions and time on the survivability of the strains. The biological material consisted of Saccharomyces cerevisiae wine yeast strain, Acetobacter pasterianus O4 and Acetobacter pasterianus MW3 acetic bacteria strains and lactic acid bacteria strains: Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG ATCC 53103 and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum LMG P-21021. The survivabilityl of lactic acid bacteria was tested under anaerobic conditions. The beverage was made of whey mixed with 10 % to 50 % apple cider vinegar. The above beverage was kept at a temperature of 21 ± 2 °C and 3 ± 2 °C for 21 days. Results and conclusion. The beverage was analyzed once a week, and the number of lactic acid bacteria after 21 days of storage was at a high level, exceeding the WHO recommended number of bacteria in probiotic beverages – 106 ÷ 107 CFU/cm3 . The beverage based on whey and the addition of 10 % vinegar was a good medium, and the number of lactic acid bacteria in each variant of the beverage was on average 8.4 ± 0.29 log CFU/cm3 .