MICROBIOLOGICAL CRITERIA IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PASTEURIZED MILK

Abstract

The process hygiene criterion is a microbiological criterion that applies to the process of food production and processing and indicates the proper functioning of the production process by representing the value of the contamination above which corrective measures are taken to maintain the process hygiene. Pasteurized milk is a product obtained by heat treatment of raw milk at a temperature of 63° C for 30 minutes or 72° C for 15 seconds. Pasteurization has two purposes, the first one is to elimination of all pathogenic microorganisms, and the second is to reduce the number of saprophytic microorganisms, which prolongs the shelf life without changing the nutritional and biological value of the milk. The aim of the study is to examine the safety of pasteurized milk and the conditions of hygiene in the production process based on the results of the examination of pasteurized milk on the criteria of hygiene in the production process, as well as to develop a proposal for the recommended microorganisms to be tested in the process of the production of pasteurized milk. Samples of pasteurized milk come from a pasteurizing plant that purchases milk from the territory of Republika Srpska, and were sampled in the six-month period (January-June), within self-control and official control. For microbiological testing of raw milk, standard BAS ISO methods were used. The results of pasteurized milk testing in relation to the hygiene criteria in the production process are satisfactory in relation to the Rulebook on Microbiological Criteria for Food. The results of selfcontrol on the recommended microbiological criteria in the process of obtaining pasteurized milk, which are given in the Guideline on the Application of Microbiological Criteria for Food, are satisfactory in relation to the finding of Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp. and coagulase positive staphylococci, and unsatisfactory for a number of microorganisms. The results of official controls in the production process of pasteurized milk are unsatisfactory due to the increased number of microorganisms in 12.50% of the samples. 22.20% of pasteurized milk samples had the number of microorganisms larger than 105CFU/ml within self-control and official controls. Examination of pasteurized milk in the self-control of the production process should be performed on enterobacteria and the total count of microorganisms, and in the interpretation of the results the recommended limit values from the Guideline on the application of microbiological criteria for food should be used.