Microbiological Quality of Some Puerto Rican Fast Foods. I. Processor Level; Frozen or Refrigerated

Abstract

A microbiological study was carried out to determine the microbial quality, at the processor's level, of refrigerated and frozen "pastelillos" and "empanadillas" (turnovers) produced locally. Results indicated that the "empanadillas" generally possessed higher initial microbial counts than the "pastelillos" and also exhibited an average shorter refrigerated shelf life (28 days vs 34 days for the "pastelillos"). Certain "empanadilla" flavors contained a higher microbial load than others. However, the greatest difference in microbial counts was observed among the different processors. Some processors elaborated products with a better microbiological quality than others, thus indicating the need to sanitize the manufacturing conditions of some processors.