733
Journal of Food Protection, Vol. 46, No.8, Pages 733-736 (August 1983)
Copyright~, International Association of Milk, Food, and Environmental Sanitarians
Microbiological Quality of Cocoa Powder, Dry Instant
Chocolate Drink Mix, Dry Nondairy Coffee Creamer and
Frozen Nondairy Topping Obtained at Retail Markets
W. L. PAYNE,I- A. P. DURAN,! J. M. LANIER,2 A. H. SCHWAB,2
R. B. READ, Jr., lB. A. WENTZ, I and R. J. BARNARDI
Division of Microbiology, Food and Drug Administration, Washington, D.C. 20204 and Minneapolis Center for Microbiological Investigations, Min·
neapolis, Minnesota 55401
(Received for publication January 28, 1983)
ABSTRACT
A national survey was conducted of the microbiological quality
of three dry ingredients used in beverages and one frozen non-
dairy topping obtained at retail markets. Geometric mean aerobic
plate counts (APCs) of units examined at 35°C were as follows:
1,313 units of cocoa powder, 6,600 CFU/g; 1,552 units of dry in-
stant chocolate drink mix, 290 CFU/g; 1,559 units of dry non-
dairy coffee creamer, 37 CFU/g; and 1,532 units of frozen non-
dairy topping, 34 At 30°C, the geometric mean APC was
34 CFU/g for frozen nondairy topping. Geometric means for most
probable number determinations of coliform bacteria and Es-
cherichia coli were for the four products. Geometric mean
values for Staphylococcus aureus in three of the products were <
lO/g; no S. au reus was found in cocoa powder. Geometric mean
values for yeasts and molds in dry instant chocolate drink mix
and dry nondairy coffee creamer were 8 and 6 CFU/g, respec-
tively,
Cocoa powder, dry nondairy coffee creamer, dry choco-
late drink mix and frozen nondairy topping are relatively
new products with longer shelf-life values than those of
traditional competitive food items, Although these prod-
ucts are widely distributed and consumed, there are no
published microbiological quality studies on coffee
creamer, chocolate drink mix and frozen topping sold at re-
tail and only four published studies (2,3,5,7) of limited
scope on cocoa powder.
In a microbiological examination by Gabis et al. (5),
total aerobic plate counts (APCs) and examinations for col-
iform bacteria were done on 36 cocoa powder samples
from 10 manufacturers, Although it is unclear whether
these samples were from retail packages, the study showed
that the number of aerobic bacteria added to other foods by
the products examined was insignificant and that the prod-
ucts were not a likely source of coliform contamination.
IFood and Drug Administration. Washington. DC
2Minneapolis Center for Microbiological Investigations, Minneapolis.
MN,
JOURNAL OF FOOD PROTECTION, VOL. 46. AUGUST 1983
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The study also found, as did the studies of Barrile et al. (2)
and Mossel et a1. (7), that Bacillus spp. were the predo-
minant bacteria in cocoa powder.
In a survey conducted by Mossel et a1. (7), 547 cocoa
powder samples were examined for bacterial colonies
grown at 31 and 55°C. These samples, however, were col-
lected from the production lines of Cocoa de Zaan. The
data, therefore, do not reflect the microbiological quality
of consumer-packaged and domestic cocoa powder.
In a national survey of the microbiological quality of
Canadian domestic and imported cocoa powders, Collins-
Thompson et al. (3) proposed sampling plans and
guidelines. Some samples were collected from consumer
packages; others were taken from imported or domestic
bulk at the level of the confectionery processor. Of the
study's 160 cocoa lots, only 36 units from 12 lots were
sampled from consumer packages, Collins-Thompson et
a1. used the sampling plans and microbial guidelines for
cocoa proposed by the International Commission on
Microbiological Specifications for Foods (6) to evaluate
their sampling plan and guidelines.
Because of the lack of published microbiological reports
on dry chocolate drink mix, dry nondairy coffee creamer,
and frozen nondairy topping and the circumscribed data
base for the cocoa powder studies, the Food and Drug Ad-
ministration (FDA) initiated a new survey,
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Product description
Cocoa powder is the product from cocoa beans after partial removal of
cocoa fat. It may contain spices or artificial t1avors but not sweetenings,
dairy products or other additives. Instant chocolate drink mix is a dry
sweetened product which may contain ruied milk, malt or other flavor in-
gredients. Nondairy coffee creamer is a dry product used in coffee as a
creamer or lightener. Nondairy frozen topping is a sweetened topping in
a ready-to-consume form.
Sampling
To obtain a regionally representative data base for the United States,
the country was divided into four sections, Standard metropolitan statisti-
cal areas were stratified by population to ensure representation of large
734 PAYNEET AL.

and small population areas, with 64 of these areas randomly selected as Q

TABLE 2. Aerobic plate counts (APCs) at 30 C for frozen non-
collection sites. Three chain stores and two independent grocers were ran-
domly selected for sampling in each area. (For cocoa powder, seven chain
stores and five independent grocers were sampled.) Five different brands Frozen
of each product were to be collected from each of the five sampling loca- Range of APCslg
tions. If fewer than fIve brands were stocked, one of each brand was col- Units RCP
lected plus enough duplicates to total five units.
<100 1,187 77.5
Cocoa powder samples were shipped to the FDA, Division of Micro-
biology, Bureau of Foods, Washington, DC, for analysis. The other prod- 100-500 280 95.8
ucts were examined at the Minneapolis Center for Microbiological Inves- 510-1,000 41 98.4
tigations. Dry products were maintained at ambient temperatures and the 1,100-5,000 10 99.1
frozen product was kept frozen until analyzed. Although the program was 5,100-10,000 3 99.3
designed to yield 1,600 units of each product, fewer were actually col- 11,000-50,000 4 99.6
lected. However, the number of units of each product met statistical re- 51,000-10,000,000 7 100
quirements for valid results.

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Sample analysis
APCs and most probable numbers (MPNs) of coliform bacteria and Es-
cherichia coli in all four products were detennined after samples were in-
cubated at 35°C. Staphylococcus aureus was enumerated in cocoa powder
by the MPN method, and plate counts were used for the other three prod-
ucts. APC was detennined at 30°C for frozen nondairy topping. Only cof-
fee creamer and chocolate drink samples were analyzed for yeasts and
molds. Methods used were those described by the Association of Official
Analytical Chemists (1) and the Bacteriological Analytical Manual (4).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The frequency distribution, relative cumulative fre-
quency, range and geometric means for APCs at 35°C for
cocoa powder, dry chocolate drink mix, dry nondairy cof-
fee creamer and frozen nondairy topping are given in Table
1. Data for APCs at 30°C of frozen nondairy topping are
shown in Table 2. Counts of coliform bacteria for the four
products and S. aureus enumerations for three of the prod-
ucts are given in Tables 3 and 4, respectively. Yeast and
mold counts for the chocolate drink mix and the coffee
creamer samples are shown in Table 5.
The overall microbial quality of each of the four prod-
ucts was judged to be generally good. Samples of coffee
creamer, frozen topping and cocoa powder contained no E.
Total units 1,532
Range of values <100-9,900,000
34
"RCF, relative cumulative frequency.
coli and only one unit of the chocolate drink mix had an
MPN level of 3.6/g. In three of the four products, S. au-
reus counts were ",,"WIg; no S. aureus was found in cocoa
powder. Coliform bacteria counts were ",,"29/g in 99% of
the units sampled.
In the study by Gabis et al. (5), data were reported for
a United States survey of 36 samples of cocoa powder. At
32°C incubation, APCs ranged from 100 to 27,000 CFU/g
with 86.1 % of the units having ",,"9,300 aerobic bacterialg.
No coliforms were found. In our survey of 1,313 units,
APC determinations showed that 86.1 % of the units had
",,"15,000 aerobic bacterialg and 6.4% had coliforms. Dif-
ferences in the two studies may be attributable to the
number of units analyzed.
In the Canadian national survey of cocoa powder, Col-
lins-Thompson et al. (3) found that 86% of packaged units
of cocoa analyzed for aerobic colony counts were <
100,000 CFU/g and that the units contained <1.8 col-

TABLE 1. Aerobic plate counts (APCs) at 35°C for cocoa powder, dry chocolate drink mix, dry nondairy coffee creamer and frozen

Chocolate Coffee Frozen

Range of APCs/g Cocoa drink creamer
Units RCP Units RCF Units RCF Units RCF
<100 11 0.8 353 22.7 1,164 74.7 1,179 77.0
100-500 37 3.7 565 59.1 332 96.0 296 96.3
510-1,000 23 5.4 378 83.5 43 98.7 29 98.2
1,100-5,000 297 28.0 207 96.8 4 99.6 13 99.0
5,100-10,000 535 68.8 25 98.5 4 99.9 3 99.2
11,000-50,000 403 99.5 20 99.7 2 100 5 99.5
51,000-100,000 6 99.9 2 99.9 I 99.6
110,000-500,000 100 2 100 4 99.8
510,000-1,000,000 99.9
1,000,000-10,000,000 100

Total units 1,313 1,552 1,559 1,532

Range of values <100-110,000 < 100-390,000 <100-19,000 < 100-9,700,000

Geometric 290 37 34
"RCF, relative cumulative frequency.

JOURNAL OF FOOD PROTECTION, VOL. 46. AUGUST 1983

 MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY OF FOODS 735

TABLE 3. Counts of coliform bacteria for dry cocoa powder, dry chocolate drink mix, dry nondairy coffee creamer and frozen nondairy

Coffee Frozen
MPN"/g Cocoa powder creamer
Units RCP Units RCF
<3 1,229 93.6 1,496 96.4 1,511 96.9 1,457 95.1
3-19 78 99.5 40 98.9 32 99.0 48 98.2
20-42 6 100 II 99.6 12 99.7 12 99.0
43-64 1 99.7 2 99.8 6 99.4
72-150 1 99.8 99.9 4 99.6
160-460 3 100 100 4 99.9
530-50,000 100
Total units 1,313 1,552 1,559 1,532
Range of values <3-23 <3-460 <3-240 <3-46,000

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Geometric <3 <3 <3 <3
aMPN, most probable number
bRCF, relative cumulative frequency.

TABLE 4. Staphylococcus aureus in cocoa powder, dry chocolate drink mix, dry nondairy coffee creamer and frozen nondairy topping.
Chocolate Coffee Frozen
drink creamer
Units RCP Units RCF Units RCF
,.;;;10 1,540 99.2 1,554 99.7 1,523 99.4
10-20 2 99.4 3 99.6
21-40 10 100 5 100 5 99.9
41-1,000 100
Total units 1,552 1,559 1,532
Range of values <10-40 <10-40 <10-670
Geometric <10 <10 <10
OR CF, relative cumulative frequency.

TABLE 5. Yeast and molds in chocolate drink mix.

Range
Chocolate drink Coffee creamer
of yeasts
and Units RCP Units RCF
<5 957 61.7 1,285 82.4
5-25 295 80.7 87 88.0
26-50 192 93.0 175 99.2
51-100 50 96.3 4 99.5
110-200 30 98.2 99.6
210-300 8 98.7 99.7
310-400 2 98.9 2 99.8
410-500 5 99.2 99.9
510-1,000 11 99.8
1,100-5,000 I 99.9 3 100
5,100-10,000 1 100
Total units 1,552 1,559
Range of values <5-5,400 <5-4,500
Geometric 8 6
aRCF, relative cumulative frequency.

JOURNAL OF FOOD PROTECTION. VOL. 46, AUGUST 1983

736 PAYNEET AL.
iforms/g. The Canadian aerobic colony data are signific-
antly higher than both the aerobic counts reported by Gabis
et al. (5) and those reported by this study (by 10glO of 1.03
and 0.84, respectively).
In a random collection of 575 samples of cocoa powder
taken from the production lines of Cocoa de Zaan in the
Netherlands, Mossel et al. (7) reported composite results
for total plate counts per g incubated at 31°C. The median
count was 180 CFU/g, and 95 and 99% of the samples had
counts of ~ 1,500 and ~3,000 CFU/g, respectively.
The International Commission on Microbiological
Specifications for Foods (6) has recommended the follow-
ing sampling plans and the standard plate count microbial
limits for cocoa: n=5, c=2, m 104 CFU/g, M=106
CFU/g, where n is the number of sample units randomly
chosen, c is the maximum allowable number of sample
units yielding unsatisfactory test results, m is that value
which separates good microbiological quality from margi-
nally acceptable quality, and M is the value that separates
marginal from defective quality. On this basis, none of the
units of cocoa tested in our survey was defective. How-
ever, 31 % of the units were in the marginal (m) quality
range. Since c = 2, a tolerance would thus be established
for units of marginal quality that would reduce the percen-
tage of samples judged unacceptable by these criteria.
The 3-cIass acceptance plan for cocoa recommended by
Collins-Thompson et al. (3) is as follows: (a) for aerobic
colony count n = 3, c 1, m = 105 CFU/g, M 106 CFUlg
and (b) for confirmed coliforms n 3, c I, m = 1. 81 g,
M = lO/g. On the basis of this plan, I unit of our cocoa
powder would be judged as marginal by the aerobic colony
count criteria. If the coliform criteria were used, 75 units
(5.7%) would be of marginal quality and 9 units (0.7%)
would be judged defective.
Except for the few studies on cocoa powder, little or no
data have been published on the microbiological quality of
JOURNAL OF FOOD PROTECTION, VOL. 46, AUGUST 1983
simulated milk products. The results of this survey, there-
fore. add to the available information on the microbiologi-
cal profiles of nondairy coffee creamer, dry instant choco-
late drink mix and frozen nondairy topping. As more data
become available, more complete profiles and comparisons
of these products will be possible.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank the FDA investigators and inspectors who collected samples
for these studies and the microbiologists who analyzed them. We also
thank F. D. McClure and J. A. Jagow for excellent technical assistance;
George J. Jackson for helpful criticism and review during preparation of
the manuscript; and A. Swartzentruber for valuable contributions to the
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survey program.
REFERENCES
I, Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 1980. Official methods
of analysis. 13th ed. Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Ar-
lington, VA.
2. BarriJe, J. C, K. Ostovar, and P. G. Keeney. 1971, Microf1ora of
cocoa beans before and after roasting at 150C. J. Milk Food TechnoL
34:369-371.
3. Collins-Thompson, D. L., K. F. Weiss, G. W. Riedel, and S. Char-
bonneau. 1978. Sampling plans and guidelines for domestic and im-
ported cocoa from a Canadian national microbiological survey. Can.
Inst. Food Sci. Techno!. J. 11:177-179.
4. Food and Drug Administration. 1978. Bacteriological analytical man-
ual, 5th ed. Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Arlington,
VA.
5. Gabis, D. A., B. E. Langlois, and A. W. Rudnick. 1970. Micro-
biological examination of cocoa powder. App!. MicrobioL 20:644-
645.
6. International Commission on Microbiological Specification for Foods.
1978. Microorganisms in foods 2. University of Toronto Press, To-
ronto, Canada.
7. Mossel, D. A. A., E. H. Meursing, and H. Slot. 1974. An investiga-
tion on the numbers and types of aerobic spores in cocoa powder and
whole milk. Neth. Milk Dairy J. 28: 149-154.