Fresh orange juices are very popular as a source of vitamin C, minerals and carbohydrates. However, for the same reasons, they are a suitable environment for the microorganism growth, including pathogens that are able to survive in such conditions, as E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes. To assure the quality of these products, microbiological safety monitoring is needed, through measuring lactic acid bacteria (LAB), moulds and yeasts, total and fecal coliforms and total plate counts. These parameters were monitored for 50 fresh juice samples commercialized in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The samples were acquired and maintained under refrigerated conditions. Tests were also made for the detection of E. coli and Salmonella sp. The LAB and total plate counts were, for the most of the samples, higher than the expected. The fecal coliforms levels of 15% of the samples were above those permitted by law. The susceptibility patterns for fecal coliforms isolates were as the expected to environmental or fecal samples that were not under selective pressure.
orange juice; quality; coliforms; Salmonella sp
