Post-Pasteurization Contamination Monitoring: A Canary in the Coal Mine
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Post-Pasteurization Contamination Monitoring: A Canary in the Coal Mine

Post-pasteurization contamination in dairy plants is a warning signal for potential food safety and spoilage concerns. While having an effective sanitation program gets the most attention, good sanitation alone cannot guarantee product quality and food safety. Sampling and testing products during processing are critical for identifying potential sources of post-pasteurization contamination. Possible causes of post-pasteurization…

Bacteriophage Control Using Closed Bulk Starter Vessel Inoculation – Part 2
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Bacteriophage Control Using Closed Bulk Starter Vessel Inoculation – Part 2

Bacteriophage control and management for preventing phage invasions are challenges many dairy processing plants face. Starter culture bacteria play an essential role by converting milk sugar (lactose) into lactic acid in making dairy products such as cheese and yogurt. Photomicrograph of yogurt showing S. thermophilus and L. bulgaricus. (Image: Courtesy of Mullan, Michael. (2014). Starter…

Psychrotrophic Bacteria in Pasteurized Milk—Spoilage, Testing, and Line Sampling
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Psychrotrophic Bacteria in Pasteurized Milk—Spoilage, Testing, and Line Sampling

Bacteria in pasteurized milk is the leading cause of spoilage and reducing shelf-life. Refer to my earlier posts, How Bacterial Generation Times Impact Fluid Milk Quality and Shelf-life and Heat-Resistant Psychrotrophic Bacteria and Their Effect on the Quality of Pasteurized Milk. In those posts, I discussed the collective efforts of the dairy industry and regulatory…

How Bacterial Generation Times Impact Fluid Milk Quality and Shelf Life
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How Bacterial Generation Times Impact Fluid Milk Quality and Shelf Life

Bacterial generation times have a significant impact on the quality of fluid milk and its shelf life regardless of the source of microbial contamination. While many factors can lower the quality of fluid milk and reduce shelf life, the most significant is microbial spoilage. “As the ability to kill, remove, or control microbial growth in…

Biofilms in the Dairy Processing Industry—What and Why are They Important?
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Biofilms in the Dairy Processing Industry—What and Why are They Important?

Biofilms in the dairy processing industry are a big problem because they threaten the quality and safety of dairy products. The growth of bacterial biofilms is the primary reason for microbial contamination of milk and other dairy products. “In recent years, the formation and impacts of biofilms on dairy manufacturing have been studied extensively, from…

Heat-Resistant Psychrotrophic Bacteria and Their Effect on the Quality of Pasteurized Milk
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Heat-Resistant Psychrotrophic Bacteria and Their Effect on the Quality of Pasteurized Milk

Heat-Resistant Psychrotrophic Bacteria or Heat-Resistant Psychrotrophs (HRP) can affect the quality of pasteurized milk. Have you ever poured milk from a carton only to see it come out in chunks? Have you ever gulped milk only to realize too late that it tastes awful? Milk curdling and off-flavors in pasteurized fluid milk are huge turnoffs…

Maintaining the Quality of Pasteurized Fluid Milk
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Maintaining the Quality of Pasteurized Fluid Milk

Quality control of pasteurized fluid milk can be complex and requires the understanding of microbial contamination, both in raw and processed milk. Aseptic and representative sampling plays an important role in monitoring raw milk quality and process monitoring for contamination within the dairy plant. Fluid milk (A commonly used term in the industry for milk…