Abstract #M112

# M112
Effect of farm interventions on sporeformers and milk quality.
Rhaisa A. Crespo*1, Bismarck A. Martínez1, Jayne Stratton1, Andreia Bianchini1, 1University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE.

Bacillus and Paenibacillus spp. are spore-forming bacteria with the ability to survive pasteurization due to its spore structure. The powdered-milk industry may need spore counts as low as 50 spores/g to achieve the high quality standards required by foreign customers; hence, a microbial load of <5 spores/mL in raw milk would be required. Control of sporeformers below this limit is crucial to benefit the dairy industry. Interventions at the farm level are key because raw milk has been identified as a main entry point of these organisms into the milk chain. Previous research indicates that teat cleaning, changes in bedding material, and CIP procedures could be potential interventions to decrease sporeformer bacterial populations in milk. Therefore, the objective of this research was to implement these previously mentioned interventions in 2 farms and analyze their microbial effect. Samples were collected for 7 d to establish a microbiological baseline. After the interventions were applied and an acclimatization period of 15 d, samples were collected for 8 d to compare with baseline data. Environmental and raw milk samples were analyzed for mesophilic and thermophilic sporeformers. Additionally, microbial quality and prevalence of psychrotrophic sporeformers (7°C) for raw milk samples were performed. Raw milk quality analysis after interventions showed that total plate counts were around 3.0 log cfu/mL, whereas Enterobacteriaceae and coliforms were around 1.0 log cfu/mL. E. coli counts ranged from 0.25 to 0.45 log cfu/mL. Mesophilic spore counts ranged from 0.81 to 1.0 log cfu/mL, and thermophilic spore counts varied between 0.76 and 0.98 log cfu/mL in raw milk samples. Results suggest that a change in the sanitation (i.e., CIP) and bedding protocols (i.e., new bedding material) leads to a statistically significant reduction in sporeformers in raw milk. Changes in sanitizing teat dips showed different results among brands. The prevalence of psychrotrophic sporeformers did not seem to be affected by the interventions. This research showed that farm practices appear to exert an important effect on the levels of some sporeformers in raw milk.