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Page No. : 111-113

ABSTRACT

Milk samples collected at different stages from a high temperature short time (HTST) pasteurisation plant were subjected to microbiological analysis to examine the efficacy of various control points in the process. Standard plate counts (SPC) in the milk samples collected at pre-pasteurisation stages i.e. from milk cans, receiving tank and float control balance tank were 7.03, 7.23 and 7.38 log10 cfu/ml, respectively. HTST heat processing reduced the SPC levels to 4.09 log10 cfu/ml in the pasteurized milk but its recontamination was revealed during packaging process, which raised the SPC to 5.35 log10 cfu/ml in packed milk. Coliform counts in the raw milk were high (4.64 log10 cfu/ml) suggesting unhygienic production at the dairy farm. The heat process successfully eliminated the coliforms but the packed milk again revealed 4.02 log10 cfu/ml in the packaged milk. Similarly, psychrophillic bacteria in the raw milk (5.15 log10 cfu/ml) were also eliminated but again detected in the packed milk (5.19 log10 cfu/ml). Faulty pasteurization poses great health risk to consumers apart from reducing the shelf life of the product.

Keywords: Critical points, microbial analysis, milk, pasteurization