monitoring post-pasteurization contamination
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Post-Pasteurization Contamination Monitoring: A Canary in the Coal Mine

ByDarrell Bigalke

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…

Bacteriophages in Dairy Processing
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Impact of Bacteriophages in Dairy Processing – Part 1

ByBrock Bigalke

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…

Water System Testing in Brewery
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Water System Testing for Microorganisms in a Brewery – Committed to Quality

ByGwen Raddatz

Water system testing for microorganisms in a brewery is a regular part of the process at Cold Spring Brewing Company (CSBC). It has been the hallmark of this iconic brewery for well over a century and shows its total commitment to quality. A brief history of CSBC CSBC is located in Cold Spring, Minnesota. It…

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

ByDarrell Bigalke

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…

The Sample - Our weakest Link
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The Sample – Our Weakest Link!?

ByJack van der Sanden

If we trust the sampling and testing process, we are more confident in the result and can make informed decisions. To illustrate, let’s look at a non-dairy industry example. Recently, my doctor ordered a blood sample. Keen to divert my attention from the needle, I looked out of the window and reflected on the seamless…