Bacterial Counts of Raw Milk and Flavor of the Milk After Pasteurization and Storage

A total of 216 raw milk samples with a variety of Standard Plate Counts and psychrotrophic bacteria counts were laboratory-pasteurized, stored at 7 C, and then evaluated for flavor after 1 and 2 weeks. Results showed that milk with counts of >1,000,000/ml before heating frequently developed objectionable flavors after pasteurization and subsequent storage. The most common defect was a bitter flavor which appeared within 2 weeks after pasteurization in nearly all samples which as raw milk had counts exceeding 10,000,000/ml. This off-flavor developed in spite of small numbers of organisms in the pasteurized product and in the absence of post-pasteurization contamination.