Ninety cheeses of the type Picante da Beira Baixa (a hard, highly salted, and spicy traditional cheese produced in Portugal from a mixture of goat's and ewe's milks) were manufactured and analyzed for microbiological quality at different stages of the 180-day ripening period. The most abundant species of Enterobacteriaceae , staphylococci, enterococci, lactobacilli, and yeasts found in the Picante cheese were Hafnia alvei and Serratia liquefaciens ; Staphylococcus hominis and S.xylosus ; Enteroccus faecium , E. faecalis , and E. durans ; Lactobacillus plantarum and L. paracasei ; and Debaryomyces hansenii and Yarrowia lipolytica .
Keywords: Microbiological quality; lactic acid bacteria; picante cheese; staphylococci; yeasts.