Interesting point.
With cheeses, depending on the variety, you are often actively encouraging micro growth to develop flavour and texture.
Not sure where you are in the world but in the EU the primary legislation is 2073/2005 and this does not have a requirement for a specific total count for cheese, just the normal pathogens.
That said, there is also in the UK a commonly used set of guidelines for ready to eat foods, of which cheese is obviously one. These guidelines have an aerobic colony count of above 104 being unsatisfactory for cheese.
Enforcement officers tend to use these PHLS Guidelines as a starting point for further investigations. Customers often use them for setting specification limits.
My advice would be to monitor the total count as a routine to get a baseline. Sudden peaks beyond this baseline can often be an indicator of a process problem.
I am attaching the 2000 PHLS Guidelines (There is a 2003 update which I don't have) and also a more recent micro guide, which doesn't include cheese, but has some useful info.
Dear Foodworker:
Thanks for your input , I have answer for my enquery but I am not sure if its right , so I need advice .
What I know , that TPC test that only earobic microorganisms will grow, but in
cheese which is a fermented products , that anerobic bacteria only cause the illness or food poisoning .
bacteria can be occure in cheese such as clostridum botulinum , salmonella , E.coli all these bacteria anerobic that mean (no need oxygen ), for this reasone TPC not required in cheese
please correct me if I am wrong .
Regards
Edited by hygienic, 02 February 2011 - 03:55 PM.