Avaliação da qualidade microbiológica de gelados comestíveis comercializados por ambulantes em refeitórios de um campus universitário da cidade de Teresina-Piauí

Dindin is a cold and refreshing food, which can be classified according to the origin of the raw material used in the production as natural or artificial and according to RDC nº 12, of January 2, 2001, which establishes microbiological parameters for the sanitary control in the food area, this food is classified as edible ice cream. This study aimed to evaluate the microbiological quality of edible ice cream sold in cafeterias on a university campus in the city of Teresina-Piauí. To this end, 23 samples were collected from 05 street vendors, from October 2019 to March 2020. After collection, the samples were prepared for analysis using the serial decimal dilution method and were then subjected to presumptive and confirmatory tests for enumeration of coliforms at 35 °C, coliforms at 45 °C and search for Escherichia coli; a search for coagulase positive staphylococci and a test for the presence or absence of Salmonella sp. The results suggest that 56.50% of the samples indicated contamination by coliforms at 35 °C and that 43.50% of the samples had a coliform count at 45 °C higher than established by law and that there was no indication of the presence of E. coli in 100% of the analyzed samples. The search for coagulase positive staphylococci and Salmonella sp, showed results in accordance with the legislation. Part of the presented ones present unsatisfactory microbiological quality, being necessary to review the stages of production and storage of the final product regarding the sanitary aspect.