ICMSF Methods Studies. XV. Comparison of Four Media and Methods for Enumerating Staphylococcus aureus in Powdered Milk.

Four media were examined for their usefulness in enumerating Staphylococcus aureus inoculated (a) into milk that was then dried or (b) directly into dried milk powder. In all, seven strains of S. aureus were inoculated individually into each preparation and were enumerated after two periods of storage (18 to 19 d and 60 to 61 d). Fourteen laboratories from twelve countries participated in the comparison which found that direct plating on agar medium in 14-cm petri dishes may be as useful as enrichment followed by streaking. Plating on Baird-Parker medium or on Hauschild pork plasma fibrinogen medium and a MPN method using Giolitti and Cantoni's broth with Tween 80 were equally sensitive for enumerating S. aureus in dried milk powder. The use of Hauschild medium may eliminate the need for supplementary tests to confirm colonies as S. aureus , but in some cases was found to fail in some laboratories. Giolitti and Cantoni's broth without Tween 80 generally was less useful than the three other media for enumerating S. aureus . S. aureus inoculated into milk that was then dried survived longer than when inoculated into dried milk.

[Destruction of Microbacterium lacticum, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in milk by spray-drying. I. Selective count of surviving bacteria]. / Destruction de Microbacterium lacticum, Escherichia coli et Staphylococcus aureus au cours du séchage du lait par atomisation. I. Dénombrement sélectif des bactéries survivantes

In this paper a method which allows the measure of microbial death rate during spray-drying by means of a streptomycin-resistant mutant that can be grown on a streptomycin-containing agar is described. Plate counts of Microbacterium lacticum, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus recovered from skim milk powders were done on plate count agar in the presence and absence of streptomycin and on various selective media. The powders were produced from evaporated milk previously inoculated with those organisms. Our results showed that the proposed method allows the recovery of 78% of M. lacticum, 61% of E. coli, and 100% of S. aureus that survived spray-drying. Recoveries of surviving E. coli on violet bile agar and brilliant green bile 2% were 34% and 29% respectively. Baird-Parker and mannitol salt agar media allow the recovery of all surviving S. aureus, thus showing that S. aureus cells did not lose their ability to grow in media containig 7.5% NaCl. Our results show that physiological injury of the cells during spray-drying differs from injury due to heating only.

[Destruction of Microbacterium lacticum, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in milk by sprayedrying. II. Effect of drying conditions]. / Destruction de Microbacterium lacticum, Escherichia coli et Staphylococcus aureus au cours du séchage du lait par atomisation. II. Influence des conditions de séchage

Bacterial death during spray drying of skim milk is essentially related to the outlet temperature of the spray drier and the type of bacteria. Under industrial spray drying conditions, survival rates of Microbacterium lacticum, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were 50, 2, and 0.002%, respectively. These rates may vary by a 10(4) factor for outlet temperatures between 65 and 105 degrees C. No simple mathematical equation could be derived to describe the relation between bacterial death rates and outlet temperature. Our results suggest that bacterial death is due in most cases to a heating effect during the last stages of drying when the temperature of the powder particle approaches that of the air at the outlet.

[An agar medium for direct enumeration of Staphylococcus aureus: pork plasma medium for S. aureus (PPSA)]. / Un milieu gélosé pour le dénombrement direct de Staphylococcus aureus: milieu au plasma de porc pour S. aureus (PPSA)

A selective agar medium (pork plasma medium for S. aureus (PPSA)) enables the direct enumeration of coagulase-positive staphylococci. This medium is based on the Baird-Parker agar without egg yolk and is supplemented with pig plasma. Colonies of Staphylococcus aureus are surrounded by a halo of precipitated fibrin. When foods such as dairy products contain large numbers of egg yolk-negative strains of S. aureus, the PPSA agar has the advantage over egg yolk containing media such as Baird-Parker agar that fewer suspect colonies have to be confirmed.

Agar medium for the selective enumeration of coagulase-positive Staphylococcus from the rat alimentary tract.

A selective agar medium (medium J(1)) is proposed for the quantitative enumeration of egg yolk-positive (EYP) and egg yolk-negative (EYN) Staphylococcus pyogenes from the digestive tract and feces of the rat. This medium, buffered at pH 5.0, is composed of acid casein hydrolysate and yeast extract with 7.5% sodium chloride, 1.6% sodium pyruvate, 0.0008% 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC), and 6% egg yolk emulsion. Inoculation is by the pour-plate method and incubation is at 38 C in a water-jacketed incubator for 36 hr. Colonies of S. pyogenes reduce TTC; EYP strains are surrounded by a halo of opacity; and EYN strains may be surrounded by a red halo, but no opacity. Small, white colonies of S. epidermidis may develop, but Micrococcus, and all other groups of Staphylococcus recognized in the rat intestinal flora, are inhibited. Other bacterial genera, notably Bacillus, Corynebacterium, Proteus, and Streptococcus, are also inhibited.