Quality indicating organisms are sometimes used to test confirm that steps to re

Question

Quality indicating organisms are sometimes used to test confirm that steps to reduce the microbial populations in foods have been successful. For example, federal standards for Grade A milk state that the total bacterial load in raw milk (prior to pasteurization) must be below 300,000 colony forming units/ml (CFU/ml). After pasteurization, however, the total bacterial load must be below 20,000 CFU/ml and must have fewer that 10 coliforms/ml. This is to ensure that the pasteurization process was sufficient to reduce the levels of the microorganisms in the milk to a level that is considered to be an acceptable risk.

What can you say about the pasteurization process if themilk had a total bacterial load of 75,000 CFU/ml before pasteurization and a total bacterial load of 58,000 CFU/ml after pasteurization?

A. The pasteurization process was successful and the milk is safe to drink. B. The pasteurization process was successful, but the milk should not be considered safe to drink C. The pasteurization process failed and the milk should not considered safe to drink D. The pasteurization process failed, but the milk is safe to drink

Explanation / Answer

Ans. The term “pasteurization” is an absolute term indicating the process that decreases the microbial load in the sample equal to or below the minimum set level . If the microbial load is NOT reduced to the minimum limit, the process of pasteurization for the given sample is inefficient. [like, if there is a single spore left behind in the media (irrespective of the initial microbial load), it is NOT “sterilized”].

# The milk is not safe for consumption because its microbial load is still above the recommended limit of 20000 CFU/mL.

So, correct option is- C. The pasteurization process failed and the milk should not be considered safe to drink.

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