Comparison between the EC plate count test at 21 °C and an accelerated plate count method for assessing the keeping quality of pasteurized milk

The keeping quality of properly refrigerated pasteurized milk and cream is primarily determined by post-pasteurization contamination by Gram-negative psychrotrophic bacteria (Phillips et al. 1981; Schröder et al. 1982). Reliable and rapid methods of assessing the levels of contamination by these organisms are therefore of commercial interest.