2. TOPICS TO BE COVERED
• COMPOSITION OF MILK
• FACTORS AFFECTING MICROBIAL GROWTH
• MICROFLORA IN MILK
• SPOILAGE OF DAIRY PRODUCTS
• BENEFICIAL MICROBES
3. COMPOSITION OF MILK
MILK
Water Total solids
Fat(lipid)
True fat
Associated
substances
Phospholipid
s
Cholesterol
Carotene
Vitamins
Solid non fat
(SNF)
Lactose Nitrogenous
substances
Protein
Non-
protein
Mineral
matter Other
constituents
pigments
Dissolve
gases
vitamins
Enzymes
4. FACTORS AFFECTING MILK
COMPOSITION
o Animal factor
Genetic, Species, Breed, Individual cow, Lactation period
o Age & Genetic factors
Breed, species, feed and individuality
o Stage of lactation, pregnancy, nutritional balance
o Health status of the cow
Oestrus, gestation, presence of mastitic infection
o Environmental factors
Extreme climates, stress, exhaustion, housing
Milking technique and milking frequency and stage
5. FACTORS AFFECTING MICROBIAL GROWTH
Intrinsic Parameters (inside the milk)
Factors inherent to the food. They are chemical and physical
characteristics of food.
pH
Moisture
Oxidation-Reduction Potential Inside Food
Nutrient Content
Natural Antimicrobial Constituents
Biological Structures & Natural Microflora
Extrinsic Parameters (environment around the milk)
Storage conditions of the food i.e. properties of the environment
in which the food is stored
Temperature
Relative Humidity
Presence of Gases or Oxygen
Antimicrobials or Added Microorganisms
6. PH
Microorganisms sensitive to changes in acidity because
H+ and OH- interfere with H bonding in proteins and
nucleic acids.
Microbes have no mechanism for adjusting their internal
pH.
Therefore, pH of food significantly affects the microbial
growth on it.
7. WATER ACTIVITY
It is a ratio of water vapour pressure of the food
substance to the vapour pressure of pure water at the
same temperature.
Water activity is expressed as:
Water activity (aw) = P/ Pw where P= water vapour
pressure of the food substance and Pw= water vapour
pressure of pure water (Pw = 1.00).
The growth of microorganisms is limited due to
minimum water activity values (Table 2):
Milk having high water activity is more susceptible to
spoilage by micro-organisms.
8. NUTRIENT CONTENT
Microorganisms require
Energy source such as carbohydrates, amino acids,
proteins, organic acids and alcohol.
Nitrogen source such as amino acids, peptides,
nucleotides, urea, proteins and ammonia.
Carbon source
Minerals such as phosphorus, iron, manganese,
magnesium, calcium and potassium.
e. Vitamins and other growth factors
Milk being a rich source of all the above gets easily
spoiled by the micro-organisms.
9. PRESENCE OF ANTIMICROBIALS
Natural constituents of foods which affect microbial
growth are:
Lactoferrin e.g. Milk
Lactoperoxidase e.g. Cow’s milk
Conglutinin e.g. Cow’s milk
These antimicrobials help preserve milk for longer period
of time.
10. MICROFLORA IN MILK
In addition to being a nutritious food for humans, milk
provides a favourable environment for the growth of
microorganisms.
Yeasts, moulds and a broad spectrum of bacteria can
grow in milk, particularly at temperatures above 16°C.
Microbes can enter milk via the cow, air, feedstuffs,
milk handling equipment and the milker.
Once microorganisms get into the milk their numbers
increase rapidly.
11. It is more effective to exclude micro-organisms than
to try to control microbial growth once they have
entered the milk.
12. MICROFLORA OF UHT MILK
Ultra-high temperature is carried out at 135°-150°C
coupled with aseptic packaging.
The only microflora survive UHT treatment are bacterial
spore of thermophlic bacilli( B. stearothermophilus) and
sometimes to mesophilic bacilli and clostridia.
Major spoilage organisms in heat processed milk are, B.
megaterium( main cause), B. firmus, B. polymyxa, B.
coagulans and Clostridium spp.
Microorganisms entering through faulty packaging
practices are usually associated with stagnant water on
dairy floors ( Pseudomonas, Coryneform, Micrococci
etc).
Major defects --> coagulation, bitterness and gassiness.
13. MICROFLORA OF BOILED MILK
In India, milk is boiled to 100°C for brief period before
consumption.
Boiling kills vegetative forms of all microbes except heat
stable enterotoxins esp. of Staphylococci.
Post pasteurization contamination can also occur due to
improperly cleaned utensils and due to improperly heated
portions of milk.
Major defects--> off-flavour (proteolytic), coagulation
and gassiness.
Boiled milk should be utilized within 16 hrs, particularly
in absence of refrigeration.
15. BACILLUS CEREUS
B. cereus is a thick long rod shaped Gram positive, catalase
positive aerobic spore former and the organism is important in
food borne illness.
It is quite often a cause of diarrheal illness due to the
consumption of desserts, meat, dishes, dairy products, rice,
pasta etc that are cooked and kept at room temperature as it is
thermoduric.
Some of the B. cereus strains are psychrotrophic as they grow
at refrigeration temperature.
B. cereus is spread from soil and grass to cows udders and into
the raw milk.
It is also capable of establishing in cans. It is also capable of
producing proteolytic and amyloltic enzymes and also
phoslipase C (lecithinase).
16. •The production of these enzymes by these
organisms can lead to the spoilage of foods.
•The diarrheal illness is caused by an
enterotoxin produced during the vegetative
growth of B. cereus in small intestine.
•The bacterium has a maximum growth
temperature around 48°C to 50°C and pH
range 4.9 to 9.3. Like other spores of
mesophilic Bacillus species, spores of B.
cereus are also resistant to heat and survive
pasteurization temperature.
17. CLOSTRIDIUM PERFRINGENS
C. perfringens is a Gram-positive encapsulated
anaerobic non-motile bacterium commonly found on
meat and meat products.
It has the ability to cause food borne disease. It is a
toxin producing organism-produces C. perfringens
enterotoxin and β -toxin that are active on the human
GI tract.
It multiplies very rapidly in food (doubling time < 10
min).
Spores are resistant to radiation, desiccation and heat
and thus survive in incompletely or inadequately
cooked foods.
18. However, it tolerates moderate exposure to
air.
Vegetative cells of C. perfringens are also
somewhat heat tolerant as they have
relatively high growth temperature (43°C -
45 °C ) and can often grow at 50°C.
They are not tolerant to refrigeration and
freezing. No growth occurs at 6 °C . C.
perfringens is present in soil and the other
natural environment.
19. CLOSTRIDIUM BOTULINUM
C. botulinum produces the most potent toxin known.
It is a Gram-positive anaerobic rod shaped bacterium. Oval
endospores are formed in stationary phase cultures.
There are seven types of C. botulinum (A to G) based on the
serological specificity of the neurotoxin produced.
Botulism is a rare but very serious disease.
The ingestion of neurotoxin produced by the organism in
foods can lead to death.
However, the toxin (a protein) is easily inactivated by heat.
The organism can grow at temperature ranging from 10-48 °C
with optimum growth temperature at 37°C.
20. Spores are highly heat resistant. The
outgrowth of spores is inhibited at pH <
4.6, NaCl> 10% or water activity< 0.94.
Botulinum spores are probably the most
radiation resistant spores of public health
concern.
Contamination of foods is through soil
and sediments where they are commonly
present.
The organism grows under obligate
anaerobic conditions and produces toxin
in under processed (improper canning)
low acid foods at ambient temperature.
21. CAMPYLOBACTER
Gram negative nonspore forming rods.
Campyloleacter jejuni is an important food borne
pathogen. It is one of the many species within the genus
Campylobacter.
Campylobacter species C. jejuni and C. coli cause
diarrhea in humans.
The organism is heat sensitive (destroyed by milk
pasteurization temperature). It is also sensitive to
freezing.
The organisms are curved, S-shaped, or spiral rods that
may form spherical or coccoids forms in old cultures or
cultures exposed to air for prolonged periods.
22. Most of the species are
microaerophilic. It is oxidase and
catalase positive and does not grow in
the presence of 3.5% NaCl or at 25
°C or below.
The incidence reported for gastro
enteritis by this organism are as high
as in case of Salmonella.
The organism is commonly present in
raw milk, poultry products, fresh
meats, pork sausages and ground
beef. The infective dose of C.jejuni
may be <1,000 organisms.
23. ESCHERICHIA COLI
E. coli strains are associated with food borne gastroenteritis.
These are Gram-negative asprogeneous rods that ferment
lactose and produce dark colonies with a metallic sheen on
Endo agar.
The organism grows well on a large number of media and in
many foods. They grow over a wide range of temperature (4 to
46 °C ) and pH (4.4 to 9.0).
However, they grow very slowly in foods held at refrigerator
temp. (5 °C ).
They belong to the family Enterobacteriaceae.
The organism is also an indicator of fecal pollution. The
organism is also capable of producing acid and gas and off-
flavours in foods.
24. •E. coli strains involved in foodborne-
illness can be placed into five groups:
enteropathogenic (EPEC),
enterotoxigenic (ETEC), enteroinvasive
(EIEC), enterohemorrhagic (EHEC) and
facultatively enteropathogenic (FEEC).
•The organism also grows in the
presence of bile salts.
•The primary habitat of E.coli is the
intestinal tract of most warm blooded
animals. E.coli 0157: H7 strains are
unusually tolerant of acidic
environments.
25. LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES
Listeria monocytogenes in foods has attracted worldwide
attention due to the serious illness it causes in human beings.
The Listeria are Gram positive non spore forming, nonacid-fast
rods. The organism is catalase positive and produces lactic acid
from glucose and other fermentable sugars.
It is a mesophilic organism with optimal growth temperature
37°C but it can grow at refrigerator temperature also. Strains
grows over the temperature range of 1°C to 45°C and pH range
4.1 to 9.6.
Listeria monocytogenes is widely distributed in nature and can
be isolated from decaying vegetation, soil, animal feces,
sewage, silage and water. The organism has been found in raw
milk, pork, raw poultry, ground beef and vegetables.
The HTST treatment of pasteurization is good enough to
destroy the organism in milk.
27. SPOILAGE OF MILK AND DAIRY PRODUCTS
Highly perishable food because:
pH b/w 6.3-6.5
High Moisture
Rich Nutrients (lactose sugar, butterfat, citrate and nitrogenous
compounds)
Composition: Protein-3.2%, Carbohydrate 4.8%, Fats 3.9%,
minerals-0.9%
Free aa: Casein and Lactalbumin-rich N-source
Lactose sugar-simple, fermentable
Milk fat hydrolysed by microbial lipases.
28. SPOILAGE OF MILK AND DAIRY PRODUCTS
Changes in Milk Fat
Alkali Production
Color Changes
Yellow milk (Ps. Synxantha, Flavobacterium)
Red milk (Serratia marcesans, Torula glutinis)
Brown milk (Ps. putrfaciens)
Blue milk (Ps. syncyannea)
Flavor Changes
Sour or acid flavor: Clean acid flavor, Aromatic acid flavor,
Sharp acid flavor
Bitter flavor- Proteolysis of casein (Bacillus sp., Clostridium)
Burnt/Caramel flavor (burnt milk flavor-S. lactis var.
maltigenes)
29. Gas production: accompanied by acid formation- mainly by coliform
bacteria, Clostridium and gas-forming Bacillus sp.- yield H2 and CO2.
Acid formers killed at pasteurization temps.- however spores of
clostridium and bacillus may survive and cause spoilage of pasteurized
milk.
Proteolysis: hydrolysis of milk proteins by m/o accompanied by
production of bitter flavor (due to peptide released).
Proteolysis is favored by –storage at low temps, destruction of lactics
and other acid formers by heat, destruction of formed acid in milk by
molds and yeasts
Eg: Micrococcus, Akaligenes, Pseudomonas, Proteus, Flavobacterium
(non sporeformers);
Bacillus and Clostridium sp (spore formers).
31. SPOILAGE OF RAW MILK
The temperature of freshly drawn milk is about 38°C.
Milk sours rapidly if held at these temperatures.
Some inhibitory substances (lactoperoxidase and
agglutinins) are present in freshly drawn milk but soon
become comparatively ineffective.
Microbial spoilage of raw milk can potentially occur from
the metabolism of lactose, proteinaceous compound, fatty
acids (unsaturated), and the hydrolysis of triglycerides.
The initial bacterial count of milk may range from less than
1000 cells/ml to 106/ml.
32. Outbreaks of illness are due to consumption of raw and
pasteurized milk contaminated with a variety of
organisms, including E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp.,
Campylobacter jejuni, Yersinia enterocolitica, and
Listeria monocytogenes.
Raw milk may be a vehicle for the transmission of
Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent responsible for Lyme
disease,and it has been shown that the organism can
survive for at least 46 days in milk stored at 5◦C.
E. coli O157:H7 has also been shown to be able to
survive in yogurt.
34. SPOILAGE OF PASTEURIZED MILK
Spoilage may result from either the growth of psychrotrophic
thermoduric organisms that survive pasteurisation, or post-
pasteurisation contamination by psychrotrophs.
Thermoduric spoilage: Gram-positive sporeformers,mainly Bacillus
spp., Clostridium and organisms with heat-resistant vegetative cells,
such as Micrococcus, Lactobacillus, Enterococcus,Streptococcus,
Corynebacterium and Alcaligenes.
However, at slightly higher temperatures (7 - 8 °C), B. cereus in
particular may grow quite rapidly, producing a type of spoilage known
as 'bitty cream' or 'sweet curdling’, caused by the action of lecithinase
on the phospholipids in fat globules.
35. Post-process contamination: The majority of post-process
contaminants are Gram-negative bacteria.
Initially, Enterobacteriaceae, such as Enterobacter,
Cronobacter, and Citrobacter, predominate, but Gram-
negative psychrotrophs, principally pseudomonas, but also
Alcaligenes, Klebsiella, Acinetobacter and Flavobacterium,
are more important in terms of eventual spoilage.
Spoilage by Gramnegative psychrotrophs usually takes the
form of off-flavours, often described as unclean, fruity,
rancid or putrid.
36. Ropiness and partial coagulation may also occur
occasionally.
Yeast and mould are also indicators of post-process
contamination. Their presence and growth contribute to
fruity and yeasty flavours in milk.
Food Types of Spoilage Spoilage Microorganisms
DAIRY
MILK
(pasteurized)
Bitterness &
Sliminess (high
pH)
Pseudomonas spp.
Souring Lactobacillus thermophilus
Sweet curdling Bacillus cereus
37. MICROORANGISM ASSOCIATED
WITH
PASTEURISED MILK AND PRODUCTS
Salmonella
Campylobacter spp
Listeria monocytogenes
E. coli O157:H7
Yersinia enterocolitica
Staphylococcus aureus
Bacillus spp.
Mycobacterium avium subsp.
39. SPOILAGE OF MILK POWDER
Spoils only when moisture content >0.8% (alarm water
content).
Spoilt by molds only.
Eg. Mucor, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Rhizopus sp.
Milk powder when spoilt becomes lumpy in texture.
Recently, it has been found that contamination of powdered
infant milk by Enterobacter sakazakii can lead to infant
death.
Contamination of milk powder due to S. aureus enterotoxin
in some cases.
41. SPOILAGE OF BUTTER
Butter not easily spoilt by m/os
Contains Min. 80% fats-spoilt only by lipophillic m/o’s.
Stored at v. low temp-spoilt only by psychrophiles.
Contains only 15% water-low aw.
Contains antimicrobial substances like Diacetyl (produced naturally).
Usually salted.
Wrapper of butter impregnated with sodium diacetyl (chemical
preservative).
42. SPOILAGE OF BUTTER
Skunk-like flavor -Pseudomonas mephitica
Unclean flavor -coliform bacteria
Musty flavor -molds and actinomycetes
Barny flavor -Enterobacter
Fishy flavor -Aeromonas hydrophila
Rancidity -hydrolysis of fats by lipases of m/o’s like
Pseudomonas, Aeromonas
Surface taint/Putridity - Ps. Putrefaciens (swetty feet
like odour-due to producn of volatile organic acids like
isovaleric acid)
43. SPOILAGE OF BUTTER
Surface discoloration – growth of bacteria as well as fungi
Green discoloration- Penicillium sp.
Greenish black discoloration- Cladosporium
Bright red/pink discoloration – Fusarium
Yellow-orange discoloration – Geotrichum
Brownsih-grey discoloration – Alternaria
44. Beneficial Microbes in Milk
• Milk from cows, sheep, goats and humans is
rich in microorganisms
• Commercially processed milk contains few
beneficial bacteria.
• Lactic acid bacteria, the most abundant
microorganisms found in milk, facilitate dairy
fermentation and promote health.
45. Lactobacillus
• Lactobacillus is a species of lactic acid bacteria
• Lactobacillus casei and rhamnosus - abundant in
raw milk and are commonly used as probiotics
• Lactobacillus acidophilus occurs in fermented
milks, ice cream, some cheeses, frozen yogurt and
sometimes as an added culture in unfermented
milks.
• Lactobacillus bulgaricus, added to milk to curdle
it – used in yogurt alongwith streptococcus
thermophillus
46. Streptococcus
• Frequently used for culturing cheese and
yogurt as they ferment lactose
• Also produce lactase - helping people with
lactose intolerance to digest milk more
efficiently to lactate.
• It’s a probiotic that helps improve digestion
47. Bifidobacterium
• Bifidobacterium bifidum occurs along with
lactobacillus acidophilus in fermented milks, ice
cream, some cheeses, frozen yogurt and sometimes as
an added culture in unfermented milks
• have positive effects on health including :
protection against infection by pathogenic bacteria
stimulation of the immune system
decrease of cancer risk
lowering of serum cholesterol and aiding in the
digestion of lactose for those who are lactose
intolerant.
48. Enterococcus
• Found in abundance in raw cow, goat, sheep
and human milk.
• Protect against infection and help to relieve
diarrhoea
• particularly beneficial for animals as well as
humans and are frequently added as probiotics
49. Fermented dairy products
• Dairy foods - fermented with lactic acid
bacteria such as Lactobacillus, Lactococcus
and Leuconostoc.
• There are variety of fermented dairy products
available in market
E.g. Cheese – by variety of bacteria and molds
Yogurt – streptococcus thermophilus and
lactobacillus bulgaricus
Kefir – mixture of bacteria and yeast
50. Hygienic measures
Hygienic measures - aim at suppressing
pathogens and inhibiting spoilage organisms
Protection against pathogenic microorganisms
Pasteurization generally HTST is preferred
UHT milk is also supposed to be free from
pathogens
51. Measures against Spoilage Organisms
Cleaning and disinfection of the milking
equipment is essential
Cooling – to slow down bacterial growth in
milk
Thermalization and then cooling – reduce
psychrotropes in milk