Chapter 5: Dairy Microbiology

Dr. Ing. Thien Trung Le, Assoc.Prof

❑ Review on food microbiology

❑ Microorganisms associated with milk
❑ Growth of psychrotrophs
❑ Pathogenic bacteria
❑ Mastitis

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 Review on food microbiology

o Classification of microorganisms
o About bacteria
o Primary sources of microorganisms in foods
o Intrinsic factors affecting microbial growth
o Extrinsic factors affecting microbial growth

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 Classification of food microorganisms

On taxanomy On the influence to food and health

• Mold (multicellular, filamentous • Spoilage MOs
fungi) • Starter culture
• Yeasts (unicellular fungi) • Pathogenic MOs
• Bacteria
• Viruses (smallest living being, On the tolerance to temperatures
obligatorily parasitic)
• See in some next slide

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 Bacteria morphology (cell shapes)

Coccus

Rod

Spirillum

Spirochete

Budding and appendaged bacteria

Filamentous

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Gram + vs. Gram -

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 Endospore formation
Bacillus spp. - Clostridium spp.
– Very resistant to heat, chemicals and dry conditions
– Germinate on suitable conditions (rehydration)

Bacillus subtilis spore

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Primary sources of microorganisms in foods

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 Intrinsic factors affecting microbial growth
✓pH
✓Water activity aw
✓Oxidation-reduction potential (Eh)
✓Nutrient content
✓Antimicrobial constituents
✓Biological structures

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pH

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pH

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 Water activity
aw = p/p0 (at the same temp.)
Reduced by
– Dehydration
– Adding solutes (salt, sugars)
– Lowering temperatures (e.g. freezing)

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Water activity
Oxidation-Reduction Potential

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 Nutrient Content
✓water
✓source of energy
✓source of nitrogen
✓vitamins and related growth factors
✓minerals

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 Extrinsic parameters
✓Temperature of storage
✓Relative humidity of environment
✓Presence and concentration of gases
✓Presence and activities of other microorganisms

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Temperature of Storage

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Temperature of Storage

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 Chapter 5: Dairy Microbiology

❑ Review
❑ Microorganisms associated with milk
❑ Growth of psychrotrophs
❑ Pathogenic bacteria
❑ Mastitis

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 Microorganisms associated with milk
✓Milk is a good source of nutrients and edible energy, not only for mammals but
for numerous microorganisms, which thus can grow in milk.
✓Microorganisms associated with milk include bacteria, yeasts, molds, and
viruses

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 Microorganisms associated with milk
Bacteria

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 Microorganisms associated with milk
Yeasts and molds
✓Yeasts and moulds are ubiquitous in nature and are found to occur in soil, air,
water, decaying organic matter and a variety of foods including milk and dairy
products.
✓In the dairy industry, specific molds and yeasts are essential for the ripening of
certain cheese types
✓Most molds are able to grow in situations in which yeasts and bacteria cannot
survive (high osmotic pressure, acidity, or low water content).
✓Molds are characteristically strict aerobes, whereas yeasts can grow under
aerobic as well as anaerobic conditions.

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 Microorganisms associated with milk
Yeasts and molds
✓Important genera of yeasts in milk and milk products include Saccharomyces,
Kluyvero-myces, Candida, Debaryomyces, Rhodotorula and Torulopsis

✓Important genera of molds in milk and milk products include Aspergillus,

Penicillium, and Geotrichum

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 Microorganisms associated with milk
Yeasts and molds
● Penicillium roqueforti
✓ used in the manufacture of Roquefort, Stilton, Gorgonzola and other blue-veined cheese
● Penicillium camemberti
✓ important in the manufacture of Camembert, Brie and other cheeses

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Roquefort Camembert
 Microorganisms associated with milk
Viruses
✓Viruses are ultramicroscopic, obligate parasites requiring biological host cells for their
growth and replication.
✓Viruses infect humans, animals and plants and cause disease in susceptible hosts.
✓Bacterial viruses or bacteriophages are important in the cheese industry : they are the
cause of slow or dead vat problems due to the failure of a lactic starter culture.
✓In addition to bacteriophages, viruses of importance in the dairy industry include those
causing poliomyelitis, cowpox, central European tickborne fever and hepatitis.
 Chapter 5: Dairy Microbiology

❑ Review
❑ Microorganisms associated with milk
❑ Growth of psychrotrophs
❑ Pathogenic bacteria
❑ Mastitis

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 Growth of psychrotrophs
✓Psychrotrophs are microorganisms that can grow at refrigerated temperatures but that
have temperature optima above 20°C

✓Most psychrotrophs are killed by normal pasteurization temperatures ; however, some

species and strains of Arthrobacter, Bacillus, Clostridium, Corynebacterium,
Lactobacillus, Microbacterium, Micrococcus and Streptococcus can survive
pasteurization and cause problems in finished products

✓Fungi become important in refrigerated dairy product spoilage when aw, acidity and
processing method become more favorable for them than for bacteria in cheese, yogurt
and other fermented dairy products
 Chapter 5: Dairy Microbiology

❑ Review
❑ Microorganisms associated with milk
❑ Growth of psychrotrophs
❑ Pathogenic bacteria
❑ Mastitis

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 Pathogenic bacteria
✓ Diseases such as tuberculosis, typhoid fever, diphtheria and septic sore throat were commonly
transmitted to humans through milk in the early days [Figure 2.7]
✓ After World War II the problem of pathogenic bacteria in milk and dairy products continued
(outbreaks caused by Salmonella spp., S. aureus, enteropathogenic E. coli and B. cereus )
[Figure 2.8]
✓ In addition to these familiar pathogens, a new generation of foodborne pathogens such as L.
monocytogenes, Y. enterocolitica, C. jejuni, E. coli O157:H7 and Streptococcus zooepidemicus
has emerged [Figure 2.9]
✓ Inadequate pasteurization, poor manufacturing practices and postprocessing contamination are
the primary causes of pathogenic contamination in dairy products
Figure 2.7

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Figure 2.8

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Figure 2.9

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 Chapter 5: Dairy Microbiology

❑ Review
❑ Microorganisms associated with milk
❑ Growth of psychrotrophs
❑ Pathogenic bacteria
❑ Mastitis

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 Mastitis
= an inflammation of the mammary gland regardless of the cause
● Effect on milk composition (Fig)
✓ Concentrations of fat, solids-non-fat, lactose, casein, ß-lactoglobulin, a-lactalbumin and
potassium are lowered
✓ Concentrations of blood serum albumin, immunoglobulin, somatic cell count, free fatty acids
and chloride are increased

● Pathogens (2 types):
✓ Contagious bacteria spread from infected quarters to other quarters and cows
– Streptococcus agalactiae and Staphylococcus aureus
✓ Environmental bacteria that infect the cow's udder surface and teat canals
– S. dysgalactiae, S. uberis, Escherichia, Enterobacter, Klebsiella and Pseudomonas spp.

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Mastitis

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 Refs
Dewettinck, K. , A. Huyghebaert and R. Rombaut. Milk and
Dairy Technology. Course note 2004-2005. Ghent
University
Walstra P. Dairy Science and Technology, Second Edition,
CRC 2006
Lansing M. Prescott. 2002. Microbiology, 5th Edition. The
McGraw−Hill Companies
James M. Jay. 2000. Modern Food Microbiology, 6th Ed.
Aspen Publishers. Gaithersburg

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