Avaliação da qualidade microbiológica de fórmulas infantis desidratadas após reconstituição e durante o armazenamento no lactário de um Hospital Universitário

Introduction: Infant formulas (IF) fail to reproduce the immunological and digestibility properties of breast milk; however, they can meet the estimated nutritional needs when breastfeeding is prevented. Being rich in nutrients, artificial milk is an environment conducive to the growth of microorganisms. Objective: To perform microbiological analysis of IF intended for infants prepared in the lactary of a University Hospital of Rio de Janeiro, after reconstitution and storage. Method: 60 samples of IF reconstituted lactary were collected, immediately after preparation (time 0 h) and after 18 h storage under refrigeration (< 5°C), in two different shifts A and B. The Most Probable Number (MPN) for coliform growth at 35°C and 45°C and Plate Count of Bacillus cereus were calculated, and coagulase positive Staphylococcus (SCP) and qualitative analysis of the presence of Salmonella spp. were performed. Results: IF showed values of coliforms with growth at 35°C < 0.3 MPN /mL and B. cereus and SCP < 1 Colony Forming Unit (CFU)/mL, in addition to absence of Salmonella spp./25 mL at both times studied. Conclusions: There was no growth of the analyzed microorganisms in 100% of the samples, probably due to the adequate training of the food handlers of the studied hospital.