Pathogen survival in portioned retail soft cheeses

Abstract

This purpose of this study was to determine, through challenge testing, if ripened soft cheeses could support the growth of pathogenic bacteria on cut cheese surfaces during storage at different holding temperatures. Australian-produced brie, blue and washed rind cheeses were chosen to represent the three main styles of soft cheeses of concern. The cheeses were challenged with a cocktail of five strains each of Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus, and held at 4°C (temperature for storage of potentially hazardous foods), 16°C (preferred temperature by some cheese experts) and 22°C (observed in some retail outlets) for six weeks. Results of the challenge tests we..