Milk contamination in different points of the dairy process. ii) mesophilic, psychrotrophic and proteolytic microorganisms

Abstract

Psychrotrophics microorganisms are able to multiply under refrigeration temperatures. They can produce heat-resistant extracellular enzymes that cause organoleptic and structural changes in milk and dairy products. With the objective of determining the frequency of microorganisms in the dairy process, four farms were evaluated in Londrina city – Brazil and different points were assessed. Mesophilic (48hs at 35oC), psychrotrophic (25hs at 21oC) and proteolytic (72hs at 22oC) microorganisms were researched, and the proteolytic predominant microflora were determined by using the Gram stain technique. The main psychrotrophic contamination points were the residual water on milk cans, on bulk tank and bad cleaned teats, and milk cans and teats were the most important sources of proteolytics. Gram negative bacilli represented 69% of the microorganisms in the refrigerated milk that means 45% of the total proteolytics microorganisms in the dairy process. Gram negative bacilli is most frequent on bad cleaned teats, teatcups, residual water in milk cans and bulk tank. The psychrotroph count in the refrigerated milk was more than the mesophilic count, showing that that psychrotrophics are the best indicatator for refrigerated milk contamination. The psycrotrophics count at all points assessed were greater than the ideal limit (10% of the mesophilic count). Thus as refrigeration at 4oC is not sufficient to control the multiplication of the psycrotrophics group, good practices should be associated to avoid or control milk contamination by psycrotrophics.