Characterization of the microbial community and its changes in liquid piglet feed formulations

• Published in: Journal of the science of food and agriculture 2004-08, Vol.84 (11), p.1315-1318.
• Main Authors: Plumed-Ferrer, Carme, Llopis, Marta, Hyvonen, Paula, von Wright, Atte
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0022-5142
• DOI: 10.1002/isfa.1818

The stability of the microbial populations in liquid piglet feed formulations was studied over a period of 3 months. Total aerobic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, proteolytic bacteria, amylolytic bacteria, lipolytic bacteria, Bacillus cereus group and yeasts and moulds were monitored using selective media. The results demonstrated a tendency for slight increases in the numbers of total aerobic bacteria (p = 0.002), lactic acid bacteria (p = 0.014), proteolytic bacteria (p = 0.006) and lipolytic bacteria (p = 0.003). The numbers of amylolytic bacteria (p = 0.791) and yeasts and moulds (p = 0.620) were more variable, and Bacillus cereus-like bacteria were nearly absent. Lactic acid bacteria, especially lactobacilli and leuconostocs, were the predominant population, indicating that a natural fermentation occurred, reducing the pH of the feeds to 4.7. The presenceof proteolytic, lipolytic and amylolytic bacteria could theoretically lead to an improvement in the digestibility of the feeds.