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Postpasteurization contamination (PPC) with gram-negative bacteria adversely affects the quality and shelf-life of milk through the development of flavor, odor, texture, and visual defects. Through evaluation of milk quality at 4 large fluid milk processing facilities in the northeast United States, we examined the efficacy of 3 strategies designed to reduce the occurrence of PPC in fluid milk: (1) employee training (focusing on good manufacturing practices) alone and (2) with concurrent implementation of modified clean-in-place chemistry and (3) preventive maintenance (PM) focused on replacement of wearable rubber components. Despite increases in employee knowledge and self-reported behavior change, microbiological evaluation of fluid milk before and after interventions indicated that neither training alone nor training combined with modified clean-in-place interventions significantly decreased PPC. Furthermore, characterization of gram-negative bacterial isolates from milk suggested that specific bacterial taxonomic groups (notably, Pseudomonas sequence types) continued to contribute to PPC even after interventions and that no major changes in the composition of the spoilage-associated microbial populations occurred as a consequence of the interventions. More specifically, in 3 of 4 facilities, gram-negative bacteria with identical 16S rDNA sequence types were isolated on multiple occasions. Evaluation of a PM intervention showed that used rubber goods harbored PPC-associated bacteria and that PPC may have been less frequent following a PM intervention in which wearable rubber goods were replaced (reduction from 3/3 samples with PPC before to 1/3 samples after). Overall, our findings suggest that commonly used "broad stroke interventions" may have a limited effect on reducing PPC. Our case study also demonstrates the inherent complexities of identifying and successfully addressing sanitation problems in large and complex fluid milk processing facilities. For example, broad changes to sanitation practices without improvements in PM and sanitary equipment design may not always lead to reduced PPC. Our data also indicate that although short-term evaluations, such as pre- and post-tests for employee training, may suggest improvements after corrective and preventive actions, extensive microbial testing, ideally in combination with isolate characterization, may be necessary to evaluate return on investment of different interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policies governing the sale of raw milk-making the sales of raw milk more permissive-are gaining traction on the legislative agendas of dozens of states. This paper examines one contributor to this movement on the policy agenda: the role of competitive framing. By combining theoretical approaches from policy studies and political psychology theories of competitive framing, we offer evidence supporting the recent relative success of raw milk activists in several state legislatures. Using an Internet survey-based experiment with a sample size of 1,630 respondents from seven Midwestern states, we show that a frame emphasizing consumer choice and food freedom is more effective than the frame that dominates among the policy establishment, that emphasizing public health risks. This is true in both one-sided and competitive framing contexts. We further show that those previously aware of this issue were less influenced by the public health frame than those naïve to the issue. Our results suggest that the pro-raw milk movement may be making strides on the state policy agenda because their frames are more resonant among the public. We also highlight the advantages gained from considering psychological and policy processes simultaneously to understand policy change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the increased outbreaks of foodborne diseases associated with nonpasteurized in the U.S. from 2007-2009. The diseases were caused by purchase of this from states where milk sale was legal and several pathogens such as Campylobacter spp., Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli. It is suggested to enforce regulations that would prevent distribution of nonpasteurized milk.

This paper schematically considers the exercise of biopower in the regulation of food and drink, tracing the spatiality of biopower and biopolitics as they play out in the trajectory of regulation of two key types of beverage: alcoholic beverages and fluid milk. Empirically, the paper considers 19th century temperance laws and 20th century mandatory milk pasteurization in the United States, highlighting the spatial strategies by which biopower's reach into digestive tracts was extended across political territories. The account suggest that biopolitical resistance enacts spatial strategies as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the strategies for pasteurization of milk that faced serious controversies in the U.S. It informs that as the pathogens could be transmitted through air, water, or even a moment's direct physical contact, milk, as a phenomenally rich medium, required the strictest possible handling at all stages. It further informs that the child mortality in cities of the U.S. declined during the pasteurization controversy.

The article focuses on the controversies of pasteurization of infant milk in the U.S. It says that pasteurization methods have been affected by the search for cost effectiveness. It mentions that the product has become flavorless and anonymous through the standardized processing. Meanwhile, Price Foundation members have planned to engage federal and state officials to a constructive debate on the precise standards of milk-safety laws.

New ways of understanding milk purity accompanied the introduction of veterinary antibiotics to the dairy farm. Antibiotics-once viewed as substances that could rid milk of bacterial hazards—became understood as food adulterants when residues of the drugs were detected in milk. Although consumers' concerns about food purity became critical in the postwar era, only in the late 1950s and early 1960s did public health officials and consumers take interest in the potential human health effects of antibiotic residues. Veterinarians and milk processors, not consumers, led the effort to curb indiscriminate use of antibiotics in the 1940s and 1950s. Paying close attention to the context in which farmers chose to use antibiotics and monitored drug residues, this article seeks to explain why farm people adopted veterinary drugs and how they adapted to new regulatory structures and shifting ideas about milk purity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine the microbial ecology of pasteurized milk within the United States, 2% fat pasteurized fluid milk samples were obtained from 18 dairy plants from 5 geographical areas representing the Northeast, Southeast, South, Midwest, and West. Of the 589 bacterial isolates identified using DNA sequence-based subtyping methods, 346 belonged to genera characterized as gram-positive endospore-forming bacteria (i.e., Bacillus and Paenibacillus). Of the 346 gram-positive endospore-forming bacteria isolated in the present study, 240 were classified into 45 allelic types identical to those previously identified from samples obtained in New York State, indicating the widespread presence of these microbes in fluid milk production and processing systems in the United States. More than 84% of the gram-positive spore-forming isolates characterized at d 1, 7, and 10 were of the genus Bacillus, whereas more than 92% of isolates characterized at d 17 of shelf life were of the genus Paenibacillus, indicating that the predominant gram-positive spoilage genera shifts from Bacillus spp. to Paenibacillus spp. during refrigerated storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the legal ramifications of marketing raw milk to the end consumer. It identifies the four legal theories wherein a plaintiff can use to recover for damages from milk including negligence and negligence per se, strict product liability for manufacturing, design and warning defects, breach of express or implied warranty, and misrepresentation. It concludes that several U.S. states view pasteurization as a cheap, effective, and proven method of reducing risks.

Raw milk is a well-established vehicle for the carriage of human pathogens, and many regulatory bodies have consequently mandated compulsory pasteurization as a food safety intervention. The residual activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) has historically been used to verify the adequacy of pasteurization of cow's milk. However, there is uncertainty on how the current ALP standards and methods of analysis can be applied to sheep's and goat's milk, which naturally contain different levels of the enzyme than that found in cow's milk. The official ALP methods applied in Canada (colorimetric assay; MFO-3) and in the United States (Fluorophos) were assessed for their ability to detect enzyme activity in raw and pasteurized milk derived from cows, sheep, and goats. The detection limit and the limit of quantitation were 0.8 and 2.02 µg/ml phenol, respectively, for the MFO-3 method and 43 and 85 mU/liter, respectively, for the Fluorophos method. The average ALP levels in raw goat's, cow's, and sheep's milk were 165, 1,562, and 3,512 µg/ml phenol, respectively. Raw milk detection limits, which correspond to raw milk phosphatase levels, were 0.051, 0.485, and 0.023% in cow's, goat's, and sheep's milk, respectively, for the MFO-3 method and 0.007, 0.070, and 0.004%, respectively, for the Fluorophos method. Although both methods can be used for ALP determination in cow's, goat's, and sheep's milk, the Fluorophos assay was superior to the colorimetric MFO-3 method based on sensitivity and time required to complete the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Out of concern for public health, the U.S. government bans the sale of cheese made from unpasteurized milk if it is aged fewer than 60 days. But while the FDA views raw-milk cheese as a potential biohazard, riddled with pathogenic microbes, aficionados see it as the reverse: as a traditional food processed for safety by the action of good microbes. This article offers a theoretical frame for understanding the recent rise in American artisan raw-milk cheese production, as well as wider debates over food localism, nutrition, and safety. Drawing on ethnographic interviews with cheese makers and purveyors and on participant-labor conducted on a Vermont sheep dairy farm, I develop the concept of microbiopolitics to analyze how farmer–cheese makers, industry consultants, retailers, and consumers negotiate Pasteurian (hygienic) and post-Pasteurian (probiotic) attitudes about the microbial agents at the heart of raw-milk cheese and controversies about this nature–culture hybrid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dairy goat herds in the United States generally are small, widely scattered, and distant from processing facilities. Unlike the situation for cow milk, it is not cost-effective to collect goat milk everyday or every other day. In some areas, goat milk is collected only once each week, which is in violation of regulations specified in the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance for grade A milk. This study was conducted to determine the effect of up to 7 days of refrigerated bulk tank storage on composition, somatic cell count (SCC), pH, and microbiological quality of goat milk. Duplicate farm bulk tank samples were taken daily after the morning milking for seven consecutive days each month during the lactation season. Samples were analyzed immediately for all variables except free fatty acids. There were no significant changes (P > 0.05) detected in milk fat, protein, lactose, nonfat solids, SCC, or pH during extended storage, although significant effects of stage of lactation (P < 0.05) were observed. The mean standard plate count (SPC) increased to 1.8 x 105 CFU/ml after 6 days of storage, exceeding the grade A limit (i.e., 1.0 x 105 CFU/ml). The mean psychrotrophic bacteria count increased steadily to 1.5 X 104 CFU/ml after 6 days of storage, whereas the mean coliform count was approximately 500 CFU/ml for the first 3 days and less than 2,500 CFU/ml throughout the 7 days of storage. No significant changes (P > 0.05) in the concentrations of free fatty acids, except for butyric and caprylic acids, were observed during milk storage. When stored under refrigerated and sanitary conditions, goat milk in farm bulk tanks met the grade A criteria for both SPC and SCC during 5 days of storage but was of low quality thereafter because of the growth of psychrotrophic bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article cites a study which aims to evaluate the reproducibility of the chemiluminescence method in measuring alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in whole milk of multiple species and bovine dairy drinks to meet new regulations in the U.S. and proposed regulations in the European Union. ALP is identified as an ubiquitous enzyme in milk with time-temperature destruction similar to that of certain pathogens destroyed in pasteurization.

Cattle with Johne's disease can shed live Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) in their milk, and MAP can survive under simulated commercial pasteurization conditions. In several studies conducted in the United Kingdom and Canada, MAP DNA has been detected in retail pasteurized milk samples; however, in one study in the United Kingdom viable MAP was identified in commercially pasteurized milk. A double-blind study involving two laboratories was undertaken to evaluate retail pasteurized whole milk in the United States. Marshfield Clinic Laboratories used solid culture medium (Herrold's egg yolk agar slants with mycobactin J and amphotericin B, nalidixic acid, and vancomycin), and TREK Diagnostic Systems, Research and Development used liquid culture medium (ESP culture system). Cultures at both laboratories were confirmed by PCR. A total of 702 pints of retail whole milk were purchased in three of the top five milk-producing states (233 from California, 234 from Minnesota, and 235 from Wisconsin) over a 12-month period and were tested for the presence of viable MAP. The criteria used for identifying samples as positive for viable MAP were similar to those followed by most laboratories (positive culture with PCR confirmation). The combined data from the two laboratories revealed the presence of viable MAP in 2.8% of the retail whole milk pints tested. Although the number of samples containing viable MAP was similar among states (P > 0.05), there was a seasonal effect on the presence of viable MAP in retail milk (P = 0.05). More MAP-positive samples were identified during the third quarter of the year (July through September). Of the 22 brands of retail milk tested, 12 (55%) yielded at least one sample positive for viable MAP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive survey was undertaken to generate contemporary data on the prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes in pasteurized fluid milk produced in the United States. Samples (5,519) near the sell-by expiration date were purchased at retail outlets over a 5-week period and analyzed for presence of L. monocytogenes. Products consisted of whole milk, nonfat milk, and chocolate milk packaged in gallon, half gallon, quart, pint, and half-pint containers. Samples were collected from both large and small retail stores in urban and suburban locations in four FoodNet cities (Baltimore, Md., Atlanta, Ga., St. Paul/ Minneapolis, Minn., and San Francisco, Calif.). Samples were prescreened for L. monocytogenes by the AOAC-approved rapid Vitek immunodiagnostic assay system, enzyme-linked fluorescent assay method. Positive prescreening samples were cultured according to the Bacteriological Analytical Manual, enumerated for L. monocytogenes with a nine-tube most-probable-number (MPN) procedure, and confirmed by biochemical characterization. The frequency of isolation of L. monocytogenes in these products was 0% (0 of 1,897) in whole milk, 0.05% (1 of 1,846) in nonfat milk, 0% (0 of 1,669) in chocolate milk, and 0% (0 of 107) in other (reduced fat and low fat) milk samples. Overall, L. monocytogenes was confirmed in only 0.018% of pasteurized milk samples (1 of 5,519). Enumeration of the single confirmed positive nonfat milk sample revealed low-level contamination (<0.3 MPN/g), even when sampled 5 days past the expiration of the sell-by date. The results confirm the low frequency of contamination of pasteurized fluid milk products by L. monocytogenes for products sold in the United States and reaffirm the reduction of contamination frequency of fluid milk by L. monocytogenes when compared with earlier estimates from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Dairy Safety Initiatives Program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the attitudes of mothers in Athens, Georgia toward sterilized, aseptically packaged milk containers and their suitability for children and their children's liking for milk. Information about the participants of the study; Acceptance tests on pasteurized milk by children; Views of mothers on APS milk containers and milk; Reports concerning their children's liking for unflavored and flavored milk; Packaging as a significant factor for milk sales.

The article offers U.S. news briefs related to medicine and health as of February 1, 2012. Hurricane Irene and heavy autumn rains in Northeast U.S. responsible for poisonous mushrooms in several places including Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont. Reviewers from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Prevnar 13 vaccine from Pfizer Inc. effective for pneumonia prevention in adults. Association of pasteurized milk and Yersinia enterocolitica infection found in Pennsylvania.

The author reflects on the dangers of raw milk. He argues that about a quarter of food-borne diseases in the 1930's were linked to consumption of raw milk. He suggests that those who advocate raw milk for health should learn from the experiences of previous generations. He refers to the NEHA position paper on the raw milk dangers.

An official position paper issued by the National Environmental Health Association in opposition to the sale or distribution of raw milk is presented. Included are cases of illness reportedly caused by consuming unpasteurized milk, organizations opposed to consumption of raw milk and available references.

This article offers a legal history of raw milk in the United States. The author journeys from the late 19th century, when milk safety was a public health challenge, to today. Urban areas were the first to act on milk safety and by the 1920s, milk regulations had reached every part of the country. In 1987, the Food and Drug Administration published a final regulation mandating the pasteurization of all milk and milk products in final package form for direct human consumption. Despite this, the sale of raw milk is still legal in half the states and outbreaks of E. coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter infections still occur.

Presents a report summarizing the outbreak investigation concerning Escherichia coli infections among Wisconsin residents, implicating fresh cheese curds from a dairy plant as the source of infection. Collection of cheese samples, raw ingredients and packaging materials by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection; Detection in cheese samples of E. coli; How a dairy plant produced unpasteurized (raw milk) products.

Presents a report that investigates incidents of potential mass exposures to rabies through drinking unpasteurized milk in Massachusetts. Editorial note from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.