Microbiological evaluation of precooked goat "buchada

The objective of the present work was to evaluate the microbiological characteristics of the precooked goat "buchada", a typical dish in North East of Brazil, composed mainly by goat viscera such as heart, lungs, liver, spleen, intestines, stomach and blood. Samples of "buchada" produced at the different areas of the State of Paraiba, Brazil, presented a high number of aerobic mesophilic bacteria, with values ranging from 5.5 to 6.9 log sub(10) CFU/g. All samples presented total coliforms, and 96.6% presented fecal coliforms, with values between 2.3 and 5.0 log sub(10) NMP/g. The occurrence of Staphylococcus aureus was observed in one sample only, at a proportion of 4.0 log sub(10) CFU/g. Salmonella was absent in all samples. Water activity was around 0.98 and pH close to neutrality except for the samples collected in Campina Grande which presented pH 5.1, significantly lowar (p