Avaliação da qualidade do leite cru comercializado informalmente em feiras livres no município de Santa Maria-RS

The objective of this paper was to evaluate the quality of raw milk informally com-mercialized in street markets in the city of Santa Maria, RS. Samples of raw milk were purchased directly from merchants in street markets and the milk quality evaluation was performed through physical-chemical and microbiological analysis. Ten samples of informal raw milk were analyzed, but only two showed no variation from the titrable acidity. In these two samples, the parameters of density and fat showed satisfactory results, in opposition to the cryoscopic index, protein and fat dry extract that presented at odds with the established standards. In relation to the microbiological analyzes, 30% of the samples had count of mesophilic microorganisms greater than 6.0x105 UFC/ml and the presence of thermotolerant coliforms was confirmed in all samples of raw milk, but no samples showed contamination by Salmonella sp. Considering that this product is illegally commercialized, the obtained results show the precariousness of hygiene in the commercialized milk in street markets. The consumption of raw milk without any hygienic-sanitary control type exposes consumer health to risks.