Some Quality Aspects of Pasteurized Milk in Algeria

Pasteurization is largely applied to certain food products in order to decrease the microbiological risk and to increase their preservability. This study aimed to investigate some criteria of conformity of two types of pasteurized milk by physico-chemical and bacteriological tests. Acidity, pH, density, total dry extract and determination of stability at 6°C were calculated. The germs recommended by the national regulation were focused: total aerobes at 30°C; total and fecal coliformes and Staphylococcus aureus completed. Concerning the physico-chemical criteria, pasteurized recombined milk appeared less conform since 93,5% of samples had insufficient density. The majority of the samples appeared unstable after 4 days storage. The global assessment revealed that pasteurized raw milk was contaminated mostly with 53,7 % of non satisfactory samples. It was concluded that application of the hygiene rules, combined with better application of regulation will improve quality of the milk.