The effect of the hygienic quality of milk on changes in microbial counts and biogenic amine content was evaluated during ripening of goat cheeses manufactured from pasteurized and raw milks at 1, 14, 30, 60 and 90 d. The original milk, rennet, curd and whey were also included in the study. The pH, salt content and extent of proteolysis in the cheese were also evaluated. Spermidine and spermine were the main amines in raw milk, while they were minor amines in cheeses. Other amines increased markedly during ripening, tyramine being the main amine in cheese made from raw milk and cadaverine and putrescine in those produced from pasteurized milk. Enterobacteriaceae counts decreased during ripening whereas those of lactic acid bacteria increased, especially lactobacilli and enterococci. Cheese made from raw milk showed higher microbial counts during ripening than those made from pasteurized milk, especially for Enterobacteriaceae and enterococci, counts being 2 or 3 log units higher. Raw milk cheese showed remarkably higher biogenic amines compared with pasteurized milk cheeses. Therefore, pasteurization of milk causes a decrease in final biogenic amine content of cheese as a result of the reduction of its microbial counts.

Psychrotrophs, particularly Pseudomonas spp. are known to be the main determinants of the shelf-life of pasteurized milk and refrigerated raw milk. It is presumed that they mainly cause spoilage through the elaboration of proteinase and lipase enzymes. At the time of this research, under the relevant European Directive, one of the means of determining the quality of pasteurized milk was the pre-incubated count, which involves incubating the milk sample for 5 d at 6°C followed by a plate count. Examination of numerous pre-incubated counts revealed a bimodal rather than a normal distribution indicating that the types of contaminants in pasteurized milk may be as important as their initial concentration. Pseudomonads that gave particularly high (>5×106 cfu/ml) and low (<103 cfu/ml) pre-incubated counts were isolated (high and low count isolates respectively). After the organisms had been subjected to a cold shock no consistent trend between the groups of isolates was detected with respect to lag phase duration. However, the high count isolates consistently had a faster exponential growth rate. Unexpectedly, with the exception of one isolate, the low count isolates produced detectable proteinase and lipase earlier. In addition, with one exception, maximal proteinase and lipase production was observed with the low count isolates. These findings indicate that there is no causal relationship between selective growth advantage and ability to produce proteinase and lipase. It also indicates that the spoilage of pasteurized milk is a complex phenomenon and is worthy of further research.

Manchego cheese can be manufactured from raw or pasteurized ewes' milk. An automatic purge and trap apparatus, coupled to a GC-MS was used to isolate, identify and compare the relative amounts of the volatile components of raw and pasteurized Manchego cheese during ripening. The majority of volatile compounds were more abundant in raw milk (RM) cheeses than in pasteurized milk (PM) cheeses. Alcohols and esters predominated in the profile of RM Manchego cheese, while methyl-ketones and 2,3-butanedione were quantitatively important in PM cheeses. Branched chain alcohols were much more abundant in RM cheeses. The discriminant analysis separated 100% samples into RM or PM cheeses by using only 16 volatile compounds. Aroma intensity was correlated with esters, branched chain aldehydes and branched chain alcohols in RM cheeses, and with esters, branched chain aldehydes, 2-methyl ketones and 2-alkanols in PM cheeses. Diacetyl was positively correlated with the aroma attribute ‘toasted’ and negatively correlated with aroma quality in PM cheeses.

The contamination of pasteurized milk by Bacillus cereus during the filling process was studied in two dairy plants. Samples of pasteurized milk were taken at four different sites along the production line. The samples were stored at 7 °C for 7 d, or at 10 °C for 5 d, before plate counting and random selection of B. cereus isolates. Isolates of B. cereus were typed by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). Samples taken at three different sites between the pasteurizer and the filling machine were all holding similar low concentrations of B. cereus, while an increase of the B. cereus count was seen in the consumer packages. More B. cereus of different RAPD types was growing in the consumer packages than in samples taken just before the filling machine. Several RAPD types found in the consumer packages were not detected in the samples taken just before the filling machine.