Fluid milk quality in the US has improved steadily over the last 2 decades, in large part due to the reduction in post-pasteurization contamination (PPC). Despite these improvements, nearly 50% of fluid milk is still spoiled (i.e., reaching bacterial levels > 20,000 cfu/mL) due to PPC. Over 30% of all dairy products are lost each year before consumption, in part due to bacterial contamination. Gram-negative spoilage bacteria when introduced as PPC grow rapidly at refrigeration temperatures and lead to spoilage within 7–10 d of processing. Other notable organisms that cause PPC are psychrotolerant coliforms and Enterobacteriaecea. These organisms are known to produce a variety of enzymes that lead to flavor, odor and body defects which can ultimately impact consumer perception and willingness to buy. Detecting PPC in freshly pasteurized HTST fluid milk can be challenging because many times PPC occurs sporadically and at low levels. Additionally, indicator organisms typically used in fluid milk (i.e., coliforms) have been shown to represent only a fraction of the total PPC. Recent studies indicate that coliforms account for less than 20% of the total gram-negative organisms introduced into fluid milk post-pasteurization. In contrast, Pseudomonas, which is not a coliform and therefore is not detected using coliform media, is the most commonly isolated genus in PPC fluid milk. To reduce PPC processors must begin to use testing methods that can both detect coliforms as well as non-coliform gram-negatives (i.e., Pseudomonas). This “total Gram-negative” approach will allow the industry to detect and respond to PPC, thereby providing consumers with the highest quality product.