PO14 | TRADITIONAL DAIRY PRODUCTS OF THE SORRENTO PENINSULA

Giuseppina De Gregorio¹, Francesco Cacace¹, Domenico Mollica¹, Francesco Saverio Castellano¹, Lucio Sola¹, Roberta Erminia Toscano¹, Giuseppe Di Loria², Marina Ceruso³ | ¹UOS Ambito 3 IAOA ASL Napoli 3 Sud, Italy; ²UOC IAOA ASL Napoli 3 Sud, Italy; ³Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria e Produzioni Animali - UNINA, Italy.

Introduction. The work assesses the food safety of the typical products of the Sorrento Peninsula and the Lattari Mountains, where craftsmanship remains pivotal and mechanization barely touches the production processes. 80,000 inhabitants, spread over 6 municipalities: Vico Equense, Meta, Piano di Sorrento, Sant'Agnello, Sorrento and Massa Lubrense. The milk production and its derivatives led, already in Roman times, to indicate the mountain ridge that goes from Punta Campanella to Agerola as "Lactaria Montis". Here, at the end of the nineteenth century, a new breed was introduced, the Jersey, which, crossed with those already present in the area (Podolica, Bruna and Friesian) generated the "Agerolese" breed.
Purpose. The aim of the work is to demonstrate the hygienic-sanitary safety of typical local products in relation to their production characteristics.

Materials and Methods. All the official sampling carried out in the cheese-making companies in the area, in the last 10 years by the IAOA Service, was examined, starting from the archive registers. Of the total number of tests carried out, only samples of the products mentioned for microbiological and chemical research were included in the work. Finally, the risk assessment related to the production technique was carried out, on the basis of conformities/non-conformities.

Results. The 7 typical products of the Sorrento Peninsula are stretched curd cheeses, fresh or aged, included in the Ministerial Decree of 18 July 2000. In the last 10 years, 58 samples have been taken on different food matrices derived from cow's milk for microbiological food safety and process hygiene research (L. monocytogenes, E. coli, coagulase-positive Staphylococci, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcal enterotoxins, E. coli STEC); as well as for chemical research (Pb, Phytosanitary products, PCBs). Of the total, 34 samples concerned typical products. BEBE' DI SORRENTO: owes its name to the shape that resembles a newborn baby in swaddling clothes. Semi-cooked stretched cheese with calf rennet. 6 samples, no positivity. CACIOTTA CANESTRATA: fresh soft cheese that was placed in small wicker baskets from which it takes its name, now replaced with plastic wheels. 4 samples, 3 of which were positive (E. coli). FIOR DI RICOTTA DI PONTE PERSICA: fresh cheese, with starter milk, thermized milk and salt. It dates back to the early eighteenth century and is used for the production of typical Neapolitan sweets and children's nutrition. No official samples. TRECCIA DI SORRENTO: fresh stretched curd cheese, it owes its name to the hand-shaped braided shape. 7 samples all negative. DIAVOLETTO "RIAVULILLO": prepared from cow's milk with the addition of calf rennet. Named so in Campania dialect in which it means "little devil". It is a caciocavallino cheese of 80-100 grams, filled with oil, olives and chilli. 2 samples both negative. Finally, we have 2 D.O.P. products. PROVOLONE DEL MONACO: semi-hard, stretched-curd, aged cheese. Produced exclusively with native raw milk, 20% of Agerolese milk and the remainder of other breeds and their crosses. There are various theories about the origin of the name. According to one of these, the ancient cheesemakers of Vico Equense and Agerola wore a large monk-type habit under which they carried medium/long-aged cheeses to evade Spanish taxes (1600 AD). These were called "Provolone del Monaco". The characteristics of the product are dictated by the production specification with EU Regulation no. 121 of 09/02/2010. 10 samples, no positivity. CACIOCAVALLO SILANO: semi-hard stretched curd cheese. Made exclusively from raw or thermized milk. It has an oval or truncated-conical shape with or without a head, parallelepiped or cylindrical. It weighs between 1 and 2.5 kg. It has a maturation of 30 days, but can be extended longer, in the "Extra" versions at least 4 months and "Gran Riserva" at least 9 months. The Production Regulations have been recognized by EU Regulation no. 1236/96. 5 samples 0 positive.

Conclusions. The only positives found concerned hygiene parameters, E. coli in caciottine, for which the cause of contamination was identified in the wicker basket, from there replaced with plastic ones. All sampling was carried out for monitoring plans; none for MTA reporting by regional SEPs, or sampling for suspicion. In the history of these products, there are no cases of Foodborne Diseases, direct or indirect, proving that the production techniques, from the raw material to processing, conservation and seasoning, have been perfected over the years, guaranteeing food safety in the context of the authenticity of the product.