Behaviour of in Artisanal Raw Milk Cheese: A Microbiological Challenge Test.

In the present study, a microbiological challenge test in artificially contaminated raw milk cheese during cheese-making was carried out. Raw ewe milk was contaminated by a suspension of particular strains. The number of and dynamic growth were evaluated during cheese-making and storage. A significant decrease of the viable count of was observed during ripening and viable count was below the limit of quantification during storage. The results show that the product is unable to support the growth of the pathogen.