Growth and Death of Selected Microorganisms in Ultrafiltered Milk.

Studies were made to compare the growth and death of Staphylococcus aureus , Streptococcus faecalis and Escherichia coli in skim milk concentrated by ultrafiltration to that in unconcentrated skim milk. Skim milk was volume concentrated to 2× in laboratory-scale stirred UF cells. Behavior of the organisms was analyzed in four inoculated milk samples: 2× retentate, 1× water-diluted retentate, milk equivalent (retentate plus permeate) and unconcentrated skim milk. Growth of each organism and of total aerobes did not vary in the four milk samples at either 7 or 13°C. For S. faecalis and E. coli , D-values for samples heated to 62.7°C did not significantly differ in the four milk samples (p>0.01). The D-value of S. aureus in water-diluted retentate was slightly but significantly lower than those in the other three milk samples (p<0.01), possibly due to the lowered lactose level in this sample.