A diagnosis of the microbiological quality of dehydrated bee-pollen produced in Brazil.
Bee-pollen is an apicultural product with potential for medical and nutritional applications; therefore, its microbiology quality should be monitored. In this context, the objective of this study was to diagnose the microbiological quality of 45 dehydrated bee-pollen samples collected from November 2011 to December 2013 in nine Brazilian States. All the samples were negative for sulphite-reducing Clostridium spores, Salmonella, coagulase-positive Staphylococcus and Escherichia coli, which are micro-organisms of public health concern. Total aerobic mesophilic micro-organism counts ranged from <10 to 1·10 × 10(4) CFU g(-1) , with psychrotroph counts ranging from <10 to 1·12 × 10(3) CFU g(-1) and total coliforms from <10 to 2·80 × 10(3) CFU g(-1) , while the values for yeasts and moulds were between <10 to 7·67 × 10(3) CFU g(-1) . According to the literature, the microbiota observed in this study were typical; however, it is important to consider that these micro-organisms may cause spoilage and diminish shelf life, reason by which quality control programs should be implemented.


CONCLUSIONS
Contamination of bee-pollen can occur during production, collection and processing, but there are few studies of the microbiological quality of this product. Brazil is an important producer of dehydrated bee-pollen, therefore, a diagnosis of the microbiological status is important to ensure the safety of many consumers. Salmonella sp., genus Clostridium, coagulase-positive Staphylococcus, Escherichia coli and even some yeast species are micro-organisms of public health concern and their presence must be monitored. Furthermore, the determination of spoilage micro-organisms indicates whether the production and the processing practices carried out by beekeepers and warehouses were adequate.
Laboratory of Food Analysis, Department of Food and Experimental Nutrition, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
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AA
De-Melo
CIMO-Mountain Research Center, Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Bragança, Portugal.
M L M F
ML
Estevinho
Laboratory of Food Analysis, Department of Food and Experimental Nutrition, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
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LB
Almeida-Muradian
D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees; D001938:Brazil; D003013:Clostridium / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005516:Food Microbiology / Q000379:methods*; D005658:Fungi / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011058:Pollen / Q000382:microbiology*; D012475:Salmonella / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification
Apis mellifera; apicultural; bee-pollen; microbiological quality; pathogens; spoilage micro-organisms