Italian Journal of Food Safety 2018; volume 7:6911 Retrospective study on the hygienic quality of fresh ricotta Introduction Correspondence: Maria Luisa Scatassa, cheeses produced in Sicily, Italy Recently, the new trends of life style of Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della the consumer showed an increasing demand Sicilia “A. Mirri”, Via Gino Marinuzzi 3, 90129 Palermo, Italy. of traditional dairy products manufactured Tel.: +39.091.6565300 - Fax +39.091.6565332. Maria Luisa Scatassa,1 at the small dairy level (Gaglio et al., E-mail:
[email protected] Isabella Mancuso,1 Sonia Sciortino,1 2014b). Furthermore, the consumers require Giusi Macaluso,1 Marisa Palmeri,1 foods processed without chemical preserva- Key words: Ricotta cheese; Microbial com- Luigi Arcuri,2 Massimo Todaro,3 tives and characterized by low-fat and high- munity; Lactic acid bacteria; hygienic quality; Cinzia Cardamone1 nutritional values. Ricotta could respond to food safety. the demands of consumers because it is 1Institute for Experimental Veterinary characterized by high quantity of proteins, Medicine of Sicily “A. Mirri”, Palermo; Acknowledgments: The Authors thanks V. low fat and salt content and other important 2Local Health Unit, Palermo; Alio, A. Carrozzo, B. Ducato and G. Oliveri 3 components, which give this product a high for their precious collaboration. Department of Agricultural, Food and nutritional value (Guatemim et al., 2016). Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Ricotta is a fresh dairy product that has Contributions: the authors contributed equally. Italy soft, grainy, thick, lightly sour taste and pre- sents a white colour. Usually, it can be eaten Conflict of interests: the authors declare no as a soft cheese but in Sicily is more fre- potential conflict of interests quently used as an ingredient in dishes and Abstract Received for publication: 19 July 2017.