Microbial Spoilage of Milk and Milk Products (Cream,

Butter, Cheese, Yoghurt, Ice-cream)

Introduction
● Milk is known to be balanced food as well as highly nutritious food as it is rich in
proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, essential amino acids, etc.
● Milk and its products consist of numerous nutrient content, it serves as an
excellent growth medium for all of the microorganisms (i.e., bacteria, viruses,
fungi, and protozoans).
● The microbial content of raw milk is important for the production of hygienic milk
foods.
● Milk and its products such as milk, butter, cream, and cheese are all susceptible
to microbial spoilage.
● Contamination source of milk
The milk source is the mammals such as cows, buffalo, sheep, and goats. Milk is not
sterile when obtained from animals. The source of milk contamination are:
1. the contamination from milking animals
2. the interior and exterior of the udder
3. the coat of the milking animals
4. the surrounding air of the farm and storage
5. the animal feed
6. the quality of water used
7. the quality of milk handling equipment and storage tanks used
8. biofilms formation on diary plant pipes

Spoilage of milk
● The main components of milk are water, fat, protein, and lactose.
● Its high water activity, moderate pH (6.4–6.6), and high nutrient content make milk
an excellent medium for microbial growth.
● Both raw milk and pasteurized milk contain many types of microorganisms, they are
refrigerated, yet they have limited shelf life.
● During refrigerated storage (at dairy farms and processing plants) before
pasteurization, only psychrotrophs can grow in refrigerated milk storage such
as Pseudomonas, Flavobacterium, Alcaligenes, Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia
enterocolitica, some coliforms, and Bacillus spp.
● Those that spoil milk after heating are the thermoduric microorganisms surviving
pasteurization such as Micrococcus, some Enterococcus, Streptococcus,
some Lactobacillus, and spores of Bacillus and Clostridium.
● Molds and yeasts are usually eliminated during the pasteurization process therefore
they cause milk spoilage after the heat treatment such as Aspergillus, Byssochlamys,
Cladosporium, Candida spp.
● To a lesser extent, the protozoan pathogens such
as Cryptosporidium and Giardia have been found to contaminate milk.
The defects that occur in milk due to microorganism are:
1. Off flavors
2. Discoloration
3. Gas production
4. Lactic acid production/ Souring
5. Proteolysis
6. Lipolysis with development of rancidity
7. Sweet curdling

Kind of defect Related microorganisms

Shorter shelf life, rancidity, and bitterness Bacillus spp.

Psychrotrophic bacteria (Gram-negative and

Gelation
Gram-positive)

Increase of free fatty acids and casein

hydrolyses, destabilizing the casein Bacillus spp
micelles (acid coagulation of milk)

Undesirable flavor: unclean, fruity, bitter, Pseudomonas fragi, P. fluorescens

rancid, yeasty Flavobacterium, Acinetobacter, Alcaligens

Sour (acid, gas) Lactic acid bacteria

Coliforms, Pseudomonas spp, Alcaligenes,

Ropy or slimy
Micrococcus, Bacillus subtilis

Flavor
Streptococcus lactis, leuconostoc, clostridium
● Sour or acid flavor
spp

● Burnt or caramel flavor Streptococcus lactis

Color changes
Pseudomonas syncyanea, Streptococcus Lactis
-Blue milk

-Yellow milk Pseudomonas Synxantha, Flavobacterium spp

Serratia spp, Brevibacterium erthrogenes,

-Red milk
micrococcus

– Brown milk Pseudomonas putrefaciens, P. fluorescens

Spoilage of Milk products

The microbial quality of milk product mainly depends upon:
● The type of milk and milk product used (raw milk, condensed milk, dried milk,
cream, butter, etc.)
● The product used for its enhancement such as gelatin, nuts, fruits, sugar, chocolate,
coloring agent, etc.,
● Sanitary level of types of equipment, the efficiency of pasteurization, and hygienic
level during production and packaging.

1.Spoilage of Cream
● The cream is a milk product made from a butterfat layer deposited on the top of milk
before homogenization.
● Cooled milk is used for the production of cream so psychrotrophic bacteria are the
main causes of spoilage are caused by Pseudomonas, Alcaligenes, Acinetobacter,
Aeromonas, and Achromobacter.
● At room temperature, the main spoilage-causing organisms are Corynebacterium,
Bacillus, Micrococcus, Lactobacillus, and Staphylococcus.
● The cream is highly susceptible to pathogenic microorganisms like E.
coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes.
Kinds of defect Related Microorganisms

Bitty cream, sweet curdling Bacillus cereus

Bacillus licheniformis, B. coagulans, Bacillus

Bitterness, thinning in sterilized cream
subtilis

Yeast or fruity flavors, gas formation Candida lipolyticum, Geotrichum candidum.

Surface taints Penicillium spp

Foamy Candida, Torulopsis

2.Spoilage of Butter

● Butter is a milk product made by the separation of milk and subsequent churning of
the cream.
● The main source of microorganisms found in butter is cream which is starting
material of butter. Therefore, the main spoilage is caused by Pseudomonas,
Alcaligenes, Acinetobacter, Aeromonas, and Achromobacter.
● The primary spoilage organisms in butter are molds such as Thamnidium,
Cladosporium, and Aspergillus.
● The pathogenic microorganisms like Listeria monocytogenes, Brucella,
Mycobacterium, Campylobacter jejuni, Yersinia enterocolitica, and Salmonella
Typhimurium.
Kinds of defect Related Microorganisms

Bacteria : Pseudomonas putrefaciens,

Flavobacterium spp, Alteromonas
Surface discoloration and taints
Molds: Penicillium, Aspergillus, Mucor,
Cladosporium, Rhizopus spp

Black discoloration Pseudomonas nigrificans

Off flavor Pseudomonas spp, Lactococcus lactis

Rhodotorula, Cryptococcus, Torulopsis, Candida

Lipolytic spoilage
lipolytica

Yeasty smell Geotrichum candidum

3.Spoilage of cheese
● Cheese is a fermented milk product that is made by coagulating the casein present in
milk by using the enzyme rennet.
● The ripening in cheese is achieved due to the proteolytic and lipolytic activities of
various microorganisms.
● The low moisture content of hard and semi-hard ripened cheeses makes them
susceptible to fungi compared to bacteria.
● Soft and fresh cheeses are spoiled easily due to their higher pH, moisture content, and
lower salinity.
● The bacterial cheese spoilage is caused by Clostridium spp., (especially C.
pasteurianum, C. butyricum, C. sporogenes, and C. tyrobutyricum), Bacillus
polymyxa, Flavobacterium, Pseudomonas spp., Alcaligenes, and Achromobacter.
● Yeasts are common cheese spoilage organisms e.g. Candida spp., Debaryomyces
hansenii, Geotrichum candidum, and Pichia spp.
● The mold spoilage in cheese is caused mainly by Penicillium spp. and Cladosporium
spp.
● Major pathogenic bacteria found in cheese are Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella
spp., and Escherichia coli.
Kinds of defect Related Microorganisms

1. Cheese

Gassy, Butyric acid Clostridium tyrobutyricum

Gassy, floating, or split curd Leuconostoc, S. lactis subsp. diacetylactis

Moldy Penicillium, Scopulariopsis, Mucor, other molds

Bitterness, putrefaction and rancid

odor, liquefaction, gelatinization of
Pseudomonas fluorescens, P. fragi
curd, and slime and mucous
formation

Undesirables flavor: rancid taste in

Bacillus spp
hard cheeses

off-white, tan, or yellow surface

Geotrichum
discolorations

2. Soft cheese

Black mold Mucor

3. Cottage cheese

Slimy curd, putrid odor Pseudomonas

Discoloration Flavobacterium, yeasts, molds

Slimy, gelatinous Pseudomonas, Alcaligenes, Flavobacterium, coliforms

Fruity Yeasts

4. Cheddar cheese

Sweet, yeasty, fruity Yeasts

5. Swiss cheese

Gassy, sweet Off odor Yeasts (Torulopsis)

Off·odor C. sporogenes

4.Spoilage of Yoghurt
● Yogurt is a lactic acid fermented milk product that is produced by using symbiotic
cultures of two Lactic acid bacteria (Streptococcus thermophilus and Lb.
delbrueckii subsp. Bulgaricus).
● Fruits and nuts added to yogurt for enhancement of flavor are the main sources of
contamination.
● Molds and yeasts are the primary contaminants in yogurt.
● The most common mold causing yogurt spoilage are Aspergillus, Penicillium,
Rhizopus, Fusarium, and Trichoderma.
● The most common yeasts causing yogurt spoilage are Candida spp., Debaryomyces,
Kluyveromyces, Torulopsis, and Saccharomyces spp.
● They are responsible for off-flavor, gas production, discoloration, etc.
● Molds and yeasts that cause yogurt spoilage leads to a decrease in acidity, leading to
proteolysis and putrefaction by bacteria
● The common food-borne pathogens reported are Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus
aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Yersinia enterocolitica.
Kinds of defect Related Microorganisms

Yeasty, fruity, cheesy, or bitter Yeast

Surface taints Molds

5. Spoilage of Ice-cream
● Ice cream is a frozen milk product produced by freezing a pasteurized mixture of
milk, cream, and milk solids other than fat, sugars, emulsifier, and stabilizers.
● It includes various flavor-enhancing ingredients like nuts, fruit pulp, confectionary
products, eggs, and egg products.
● Being a nutritious food, ice-cream serves as a good medium for microbial growth due
to the high nutritive value, almost neutral pH, and long storage duration.
● It is a frozen milk product hence ice cream spoilage is mainly caused by
psychrotrophs such as Pseudomonas, Flavobacterium, Alcaligenes, Listeria
monocytogenes.
● Certain molds such as Aspergillus, Fusarium, Geotrichum, Mucor, Penicillium, and
yeasts such as Zygosaccharomyces, Saccharomyces, and Cryptococcus also cause
ice-cream spoilage.
● Major pathogenic bacteria found in ice-cream are Listeria monocytogenes,
Salmonella spp., and Escherichia coli.
The defect found in ice cream due to this spoilage causing microorganisms are:
1. bitterness and off-flavor
2. rancidity
3. greenish pigments
4. discoloration
5. surface taints