Prevalence of Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes in different cheese types produced in Turkey

Purpose - The present paper seeks to determine the prevalence of Salmonella spp. and Listeria (L.) monocytogenes in several cheese varieties. Design/methodology/approach - A total 280 cheese samples (105 white cheese, 70 processed cheese, 45 dil cheese and 60 kasar cheese) purchased from supermarkets in six provinces of Turkey were collected at intervals between March 2007 and February 2008. Findings - The results showed that 1.9 percent of white cheese samples were contaminated with Salmonella spp, whereas the L monocytogenes prevalence was 4.8 percent in this type of cheese sample. The prevalence of L. monocytogenes in processed cheese and kasar cheese were found to be 1.4 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively. No Salmonella spp. was isolated from these cheese varieties. Neither Salmonella spp. nor L. monocytogenes were found in dil cheese samples examined. Originality/value - Cheese is a ready to eat product that with a low incidence of contamination may pose great public health concerns. Microbiological evaluation of different cheese samples produced with different manufacturing methods and the possible effects of manufacturing methods on the microbiological quality of these cheese samples are the originality criteria of the study. The cheeses were also sold in a very restricted area of Turkey. The results of this study indicate that white cheese has the highest rates of contamination due to the lack of standardized procedures of manufacturing and ripening.