A study done in 1980 to 1981 assessed the overall bacteriological quality of three varieties of domestic and imported processed cheese products. All of the 78 lots tested had counts of <1.8 Escherichia coli and coliforms/g, and had no staphylococcal thermonuclease activity. Domestic products had significantly higher levels of aerobic sporeformers than imported products (α = 0.05), whereas the differences in levels of anaerobic sporeformers in these products were not significant. Results of this study indicated that good manufacturing practices were used during the processing of these products.
