Clostridial Spores in Animal Feeds and Milk

Milk conservation and its organoleptic quality are greatly affected by different microbial contaminants (Table 1). These microorganisms are present either directly on the animal, in the farm environment or on the milking equipment. Industry requirements and country regulations require that the number of bacteria in raw milk be under a specific amount, often of 100 000 bacterial cells ml-1. Recent bacterial counts from a survey in Québec (Canada) found that most raw milk samples were under 50 000 bacterial cells ml-1 (http://www.lait.org/fichiers/RapportAnnuel/FPLQ-2010/controleQualite.pdf).