EVALUATION OF MICROBIAL HAZARDS DURING CREAMY CREAM CHEESE PROCESSING

The purpose of the work was to identify the potential microbial hazards that may occur during the manufacturing process of creamy cream cheese, and to present the means of their elimination or minimization. The analysis demonstrated that among the most crucial stages that should be particularly monitored are: the quality of raw materials, the control of pasteurization and souring parameters as well as temperature of product packaging, ensuring proper storage conditions of the finished product and hygiene throughout the production. Of these, the most critical step in the entire process (critical control points - CCP) is a heat treatment process which is pasteurization. On the basis of the analysis, it can be concluded that the monitoring of such a process and consistent adherence to Operational Pre-Condition Pro-grams at the thermisation and centrifuging and later packaging, can help guarantee a safe product and its long shelf life.