Incidence and identification of phospholipase C-producing bacteria in fresh and spoiled homogenized milk.

Bacteria which produced phospholipase C were isolated from 13 of 34 fresh and 15 of 35 spoiled samples of homogenized milk. No single off flavor was assigned consistently to samples with phospholipase producers, but 75% of them were bitter. Pseudomonads constituted 62% of the isolates. Other phospholipase C-producing genera and their numbers were Acinetobacter, two; Alcaligenes, three; Bacillus, two; Citrobacter, one; Enterobacter, three; and Flavobacterium, two. Two unidentified yeasts also were isolated.