Microbiological quality of raw milk used for small-scale artisan cheese production in Vermont: Effect of farm characteristics and practices

• Published in: Journal of dairy science 2010-01, Vol.93 (1), p.134-147
• Main Authors: D’Amico, D.J., Donnelly, C.W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: animal pathogenic bacteria; Animal productions; Animals; bacterial contamination; Biological and medical sciences; Cattle; Cheese; cheesemaking; Dairying - methods; Dairying - standards; Escherichia coli O157:H7; ewe milk; food contamination; Food industries; food microbiology; food pathogens; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; goat milk; Goats; Listeria monocytogenes; Listeria monocytogenes - isolation & purification; Milk - cytology; Milk - microbiology; Milk and cheese industries. Ice creams; milk quality; organic production; pasteurized milk; pathogen; plate count; polymerase chain reaction; prevalence; raw milk; risk assessment; Salmonella; sampling; Sheep; somatic cell count; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus aureus - isolation & purification; Terrestrial animal productions; Vermont; Vertebrates
• ISSN: 0022-0302; 1525-3198
• DOI: 10.3168/jds.2009-2426

This study 1) evaluated the overall milk quality and prevalence of 4 target pathogens (Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., and Escherichia coli O157:H7) in raw milk used for small-scale artisan cheesemaking and 2) examined specific farm characteristics and practices and their effect on bacterial and somatic cell counts (SCC). Raw milk samples were collected weekly from 21 artisan cheese operations (6 organic) in the state of Vermont that manufactured raw-milk cheese from cow (12), goat (5), or sheep (4) milk during the summer of 2008. Individual samples were examined for standard plate counts (SPC), coliform counts (CC), and SCC. Samples were also screened for target pathogens both quantitatively and qualitatively by direct plating and PCR. Overall, 86% of samples had SPC