Microbiological Profile of Kashkaval Cheese During Production Season Mirela Anamaria JIMBOREAN 1 , Dorin ŢIBULCĂ 1 *, Delia MICHIU 1 1 Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 3-5 Mănăştur Street, Cluj-Napoca, România * corresponding author: dorin.tibulca@usamvcluj.ro Bulletin UASVM Food Science and Technology 77(1)/2020 ISSN-L 2344-2344; Print ISSN 2344-2344; Electronic ISSN 2344-5300 DOI: 10.15835/buasvmcn-fst: 2019.0042 Abstract Although the scalded cheeses are not an ideal substrate for microorganisms, these are a suitable habitat for starter cultures and indigenous microbiota, the latter being able to survive during processing. The aim of this study was to highlight the qualitative and hygienic aspects of kashkavals as a finished products. The microbiological assays aimed the evaluation of sanitary-hygienic quality in kashkaval cheeses obtained during one year, by the following indicators: determination of coliform bacteria, E. coli, monitoring of pathogenic microorganisms: Stafylococcus aureus coagulase-positive and total number of micromycetes. Sixty samples from five units which process the milk into scalded cheeses, were collected. 10% from the analyzed cheese samples, had values of coliform counts between 10 2 -10 3 cfu/g, while the remaining samples had values less than 10 2 cfu/g. 8.3% of cheese samples had values of E. coli ranging from 11 to 100 cfu/g and the remaining samples had lower values. No sample registered over 1,000 cfu/g, which is the upper marginal limit for coagulase-positive staphylococci in cheeses, according to the Reg. EC 1881/2006. 18.3% of cheese samples had values of total number of micromycetes over 1000 cfu/g, while the remaining samples were below 1000 cfu/ g. Keywords: coliform bacteria, micromycetes, scaled cheese Introduction The main feature of the technological process of Kashkaval cheese is to obtain the curd, which, after ripening and cutting (into slices of 3-5 mm thickness and 3-6 cm width), is scalded at 74-80° C (Costin et al., 2003). Cheese making is a major industry worldwide, and a large part of it is still practiced on a relatively small scale, which accounts for the rich diversity of available cheeses (Fox et al., 2004). Bărzoi and Apostu (2002), showed that cheeses have a very microbiologically complex system. Considering this, the assessment of their general microbiological quality is very difficult, sometimes impossible to perform, due to the intervention of microflora used in their production. Coliform bacteria is a sanitary microbiological indicator with a special meaning. Coliform bacteria constitutes a dangerous group among microorganisms, that infect cheeses through various sources (Giammanco et al., 2011). The occurrence of psychrotrophic bacteria in cheeses causes defects like lipolysis, which may lead to excessive accumulation of free fatty acids and rancid aromas in brined cheese. This is the frequent result of milk contamination