Evaluation of the microbiological quality of some fresh dairy products with Soleris® Automated System

Abstract The manufacture of dairy products is an important sector of the food industry. From milking to processing, a number of hygiene rules must be strictly followed. During processing, dairy products can be contaminated with different microorganisms, causing spoilage, infectious diseases, and alterations in the sensory characteristics. There are strict requirements for the quality assurance of milk products. In spite of this, there occur infections linked to milk and dairy product consumption. The analysis of the microbiological quality of these products is a health concern, and it also has an economic impact. The increase and development of the global market of processing technologies require rapid monitoring and controlling systems for food products. In our study, we investigated the microbiological quality of some fresh dairy products with the Soleris® test system. For instrument setting, calibration curves were realized with test bacterial strains. With known initial microbial load of the samples, the microbial growth versus time was measured by the above-mentioned system. The occurrence of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus was evaluated in ten dairy products. Results obtained by the Soleris system showed that the system is efficient for this purpose. Calibration curves with high correlation coefficients permitted the quantitative determination of the aimed bacteria in the dairy product samples.