Short communication: Investigation into Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis in pasteurized milk in Italy.
This study investigated the presence of viable Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP) in pasteurized milk produced by Italian industrial dairy plants to verify the prediction of a previously performed risk assessment. The study analyzed 160 one-liter bottles of pasteurized milk from 2 dairy plants located in 2 different regions. Traditional cultural protocols were applied to 500mL of pasteurized milk for each sample. The investigation focused also on the pasteurization parameters and data on the microbiological characteristics of raw milk (total bacterial count) and pasteurized milk (Enterobacteriaceae and Listeria monocytogenes). No sample was positive for MAP, the pasteurization parameters complied with European Union legislation, and the microbiological analysis of raw and pasteurized milk showed good microbiological quality. The results show that a 7-log (or >7) reduction could be a plausible value for commercial pasteurization. The combination of hygiene practices at farm level and commercial pasteurization yield very low or absent levels of MAP contamination in pasteurized milk, suggesting that pasteurized milk is not a significant source of human exposure to MAP in the dairies investigated.
Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano Emilia (BO), Italy.
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Serraino
Institute for Zooprophylaxis in Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, Via Pitagora 2, 42100 Reggio Emilia, Italy.
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Bonilauri
Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano Emilia (BO), Italy. Electronic address: federica.giacometti3@unibo.it.
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Giacometti
National Reference Centre for Paratuberculosis, Experimental Institute for Zooprophylaxis in Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, Strada della Faggiola 1, 29027 Gariga di Podenzano (PC), Italy.
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Ricchi
National Reference Centre for Paratuberculosis, Experimental Institute for Zooprophylaxis in Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, Strada della Faggiola 1, 29027 Gariga di Podenzano (PC), Italy.
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Cammi
Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano Emilia (BO), Italy.
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Piva
Granarolo s.p.a, Via Cadriano 27/2, 40121 Bologna, Italy.
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Zambrini
Granarolo s.p.a, Via Cadriano 27/2, 40121 Bologna, Italy.
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Canever
National Reference Centre for Paratuberculosis, Experimental Institute for Zooprophylaxis in Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, Strada della Faggiola 1, 29027 Gariga di Podenzano (PC), Italy.
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Arrigoni
D000818:Animals; D007558:Italy; D050296:Microbial Viability; D008892:Milk / Q000382:microbiology*; D016927:Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D061352:Pasteurization
Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis; pasteurized milk