Automated Impedance Measurements for Rapid Screening of Milk Microbial Content

Measurement of Off-Flavoring Volatile Compounds and Microbial Load as a Probable Marker for Keeping Quality of Pasteurized Milk

(1) Background: Multiple attempts have been conducted to correlate milk keeping quality with chemical, physical or bacteriological parameters. These methods only measure the chemical changes in milk produced by bacteria. Headspace solid-phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) is an economic and recent method used to measure both volatile compounds and microbial load in milk, also allowing to keep the quality of the milk product. (2) Methods: The present study was conducted to identify and measure the off-flavoring volatile compounds through gas chromatography coupled with flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and the microbial load of pasteurized fluid milk stored at different temperatures, as a possible indicator of its keeping quality. (3) Results: The highest results were obtained to acetone, followed by butanone, pentanal and ethanol. These mean values were significantly enhanced from the 0 to 19th day of storage, at 10 °C. At day 19th, the minimum score for aroma, flavor and overall acceptability were also recorded as 4.33 ± 0.17, 4.02 ± 0.06, 4.00 ± 0.04, respectively. Likewise, maximum values for standard plate count (Log10 CFU 15.54 ± 0.40 mL−1) and total psychotroph count (Log10 CFU 11.67 ± 0.30mL−1) were reported at 10 °C and 4 °C. (4) Conclusion: HS-SPME/GC-FID methodology revealed to be very sensitive and capable to be applied in volatile compounds quantification in pasteurized milk produced during the storage period at different temperatures.

Detection of post-pasteurization contamination of cream by impedimetric methods

Impedimetric methods for evaluating post-pasteurization contamination and shelf-life of cream were assessed. Over 94% of the samples tested were in agreement, using selected cut-offs of 20 h for detection time measured at 21 degrees C with creams containing inhibitors for the growth of Gram positive bacteria on standard plate count agar as growth media, and 3.2 X 10(7) cfu/g for plate counts obtained on cream which had been pre-incubated in the presence of inhibitors for the growth of Gram positive organisms, and on cream stored at 6 degrees C for 7 d. Agreement between the impedimetric method and plate count was not as good if either Brain Heart Infusion or Milk Agar was used in place of Plate Count Agar in the former technique. A poor correlation was obtained between plate count methods for enumerating post-pasteurization contamination and keeping quality with impedimetric measurements on cream alone. It was possible, with a reasonable degree of certainty, to determine if cream had suffered post-pasteurization contamination within 20 h of production.

The impedance method for monitoring total coliforms in wastewaters. Part I. Background and methodology

This paper presents a brief review of the history of the use of conductance and impedance techniques for monitoring bacterial growth and activity. The paper also describes the development of an impedance methodology applicable to the estimation of numbers of total coliform bacteria in domestic sewage and other wastewaters.

[Rapid method for indirect determination of total microbial count in perishable foods]

A method is presented for the determination in one hour of aerobic microorganisms (Total Plate Count) in food in the range between 10(4) and 10(7) bacteria per ml resp. g. This method was developed mainly for rapid microbial analysis of perishable foodstuffs. The method operates by polarographic measurement of oxygen consumption in a tight cell, filled with the liquid product to be evaluated. The correlations between microbial counts and oxygen consumption rates are shown for samples of pasteurized milk and semi-liquid egg.