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Clostridium species are known for their impact on animal and human health, but also for the spoilage of foodstuffs. Their spores contaminate milk and result in germination and gas production, the latter being particularly evident in the cheeses that suffer severe depreciation. To address this issue, the Primary Production Department of the IZSLER institute in Brescia, Italy conducts the Most Probable Number (MPN) method on bovine milk samples collected from Northern Italian dairies between 2004 and 2023. This approach leverages two semi-quantitative protocols, S2 and S3, to detect Clostridium species spore forms upon customer request. Here, we would like to present an a-posteriori analysis on the results of the S2 and S3 protocols. The goal of this study is to highlight the differences between these two methods and provide evidence of the actual decrease in Clostridium species in raw cow milk over a 20-year period. Our analysis shows that client demand for S2 has progressively decreased, while S3's has remained constant, and both protocols reveal a significant reduction in positives; furthermore, S3's greater sensitivity made it more responsive to environmental changes. This highlights the necessity of choosing the appropriate testing protocol that accounts for both regulatory standards and environmental factors. Overall, our findings underscore the importance of continued monitoring to manage Clostridium species contamination and ensure milk quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last few decades, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) has become a growing public health problem in Europe. The tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is a zoonotic virus that affects the central nervous system (CNS). TBEV has been detected in 27 European countries, and the rise in TBE cases is mainly due to environmental and ecological factors, and factors that increase the risk of human exposure to infected ticks. The infection via the alimentary route is the second most common means of TBEV transmission to humans. Raw milk from infected goats, sheep, or cows has been identified as a source of human food-borne infections. This study aims to gather new information on the prevalence of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) in raw goat's and cow's milk and related raw products in the Lombard Alps (Italy). This is important due to the close proximity of Lombardy to the Triveneto region, where TBE is endemic, and southern Switzerland, where numerous TBEVpositive mammals have been found. Throughout 2023, a passive monitoring plan was implemented on samples delivered for TBEV analyses from the Alpine pastures. In total, 248 specimens including raw milk, raw milk cheese, and butter were tested. This is the first monitoring of food at risk of TBEV transmission in a non-endemic region with evidence of TBEV circulation. Despite testing a wide range of dairy products, no sample tested positive for RNA-TBEV by real-time RT-PCR. Preliminary results suggest that raw milk and raw dairy products do not pose a significant risk of TBEV transmission to humans in the territory of Lombardy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]