This is a guest post written by Mark Z. Moores, CPCU, ARM, AAI, President, Moores Insurance Management, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is a highly respected adviser in the insurance industry. See Author Bio at the end of the post. Compared to other industries, trucking, including the milk tanker industry, has some of the highest work-related injury…
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…
Bulk-tank somatic cell counts (BTSCCs) are measured and monitored from Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMOs) to determine the quality of the milk supply in the U.S. BTSCCs are defined as the number of white blood cells, secretory cells, and squamous cells per milliliter of raw milk. Milk processors monitor BTSCCs in the nation’s milk shipments…
The quality of milk can be negatively impacted by multiple sources of contamination in a dairy processing plant. Previous blogs focused primarily on microbial contamination of raw milk caused by various bacteria. For products such as cheese and yogurt, starter culture bacteria play a positive and essential role. However, the fermentation function of starter cultures can be threatened by another microbial contamination, bacteriophages, or phages as…
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…
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 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 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…
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…
Someone told me that you need to do something that scares you every day. While I understand the logic, I like to believe that you need to surround yourself with people who challenge you every day. Working in an industry that some may describe as being slow to change can be challenging at times. However, my…
Founded in 1983, QualiTru Sampling Systems (formerly known as QMI) is the trusted partner that delivers accurate, in-process aseptic, representative, sanitary, and hygienic sampling solutions for the dairy, beverage, and liquid food industries. Read more…
