Estudio de la Calidad Físicoquímica y Microbiológica del Lactosuero de Queso Fresco Proveniente de Queseras Artesanales de Cayambe - Ecuador

This study was based on the physicochemical and microbiological analysis of the whey of small and medium cheese-making industries in the canton of Cayambe to determine whether the whey from the curd of fresh cheese meets the established standards. The whey contains a nutritional value for the protein content that can be used as raw material to generate and innovate products of food interest for humans and animals. In Ecuador most of this milk residue is discarded without proper use, and can be used to make functional products for the content mainly of protein and lactose. Samples were taken from 20 dairy industries, and information was collected through surveys on the liters of processed milk, handling, quantity and treatment, obtaining that 70% of producers allocate more than 10,000 l. of milk per month to the production of fresh cheese, the compositional state of whey presented a fat content between 0.27 to 1.05%, protein from 0.30 to 0.86%, lactose 4.41 to 4.97%, total solids 6.20 to 6.74%; as for microbiological analysis, for aerobic mesophiles and Staphylococcus aureus most companies comply with the NTE INEN 2594 standard, while E. coli and total Coliforms the companies do not comply with the national standard.