Comportamento do manipulador e o risco de contaminação microbiológica no ambiente de produção do queijo Canastra.

Considering that the behavior of food handlers can affect food safety, the main goal of this study was to identify associations between the handler's behavior and risks of microbial contamination underlying Canastra cheese production. The specific objectives were to verify historical data from microbiological analyzes carried out periodically by cheese companies affiliated to the Canastra Cheese Producers Association, select the sample group, apply the questionnaire, as well as evaluate and compare the results. The research hypothesis was that the behavior of cheesemakers from facilities with distinct profiles of microbial contamination records is different and these differences can be structured in some behavioral dimensions. In order to verify whether the statements of the study's hypotheses can be confirmed or refuted, this work followed five methodological steps. Firstly, I divided the facilities affiliated in Canastra Chesemaking Association into two groups, one consisting of facilities with a higher frequency of microbial contamination events and the other group with a lower frequency of microbial contamination events. Secondly, I surveyed the likely scenarios related to cheesemakers behaviors that pose a risk the cheese processing environment to microbial contamination and use these scenarios to generate a questionnaire structured into four dimensions: personal hygiene; frequent handling behaviors; appareling profiles; personnel flow patterns. Data collection was done through connection, applying the structured questionnaire to the Canastra Cheese handlers. Finally, data analysis was performed using means tests to compare the behavior of the handlers of the two groups and analyze how much each one can generate contamination problems in the production line. From the results obtained, it can be seen that the groups had different behaviors only in the first dimension, which is about personal hygiene. Furthermore, through a detailed analysis of each of the questions in the questionnaire, it can be observed that the cheesemakers from both compared groups have similar behaviors regarding good practices in the production of artisanal cheese for several analyzed scenarios. Although the accessed cheesemaking facilities are part of cheese factories with different microbiological analysis data, the hypothesis was accepted only in the first dimension of the questionnaire, in which the approach was about personal hygiene behavior. However, this difference in the behavior of handlers can affect microbiological safety in the production environment, demonstrating that their actions can enable microbiological contamination.