Tracking the microbial communities from the farm to the processing facility of a washed-rind cheese operation.

Milk residue and the accompanying biofilm accumulation in milking systems can compromise the microbial quality of milk and the downstream processes of cheese production. Over a six-month study, the microbial ecosystems of milk ( = 24), tap water ( = 24) and environmental swabs ( = 384) were cultured by plating decimal dilutions to obtain viable counts of total aerobic mesophilic lactose-utilizing bacteria (lactose-M17), lactic acid bacteria (MRS), yeasts and molds (Yeast, Glucose, Chloramphenicol (YGC) medium). Viable aerobic lactose-M17 plate counts of milk remained well below 4.