SPRAY DRIED MILK OF THE SAKHA PLANT: I. QUALITY CONTROL STUDIES

Fifty samples of freshly spray-dried non-fat milk were taken from the Sakha plant. The quality of this powdered milk was assessed by bacteriological, chemical, and physical tests. Bacterial counts showed the following averages per gram; total viable counts, 13 × 10⁶ at 30 C and 6.8 × 10⁶ at 37 C; thermoduric, 1.6 × 10⁶; psychrophilic, 4.5 × 10⁵; non-pathogenic staphylococci, 4 × 10⁵; Group D streptococci, group I comprising Streptococcus faecium, Streptococcus durans and Streptococcus bovis, 5.3 × 10⁵ and group II comprising Streptococcus faecalis and its varieties zymogenes and liquefaciens, 9.3 × 10⁴; and coliforms, 64. × 10². Saccharolytic anaerobes were found in 40% of the samples examined while proteolytic anaerobes and β-hemolytic bacteria were not detected. The chemical and physical tests showed the following averages: 1.9% fat, 0.21% acidity, 3.25% moisture, and 1.1 ml solubility index.