Table 2.
Enterobacteriaceae, TC, and TTC values in pasteurized milk samples obtained from producers A and B during five sampling weeks
| AProducer A | BProducer B | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week | Enterobacteriaceae (Log CFU/ml) | TC (MPN/ml) | TTC (MPN/ml) | *Total E. coli isolates |
CEnterobacteriaceae (Log CFU/ml) |
DTC (MPN/ml) |
ETTC (MPN/ml) |
*Total E. coli isolates |
| 1 | < 1 | < 3.6 | < 3.6 | 0 | 4.65 ± 0.94b | 1.10 × 103 b | 1.10 × 103 a | 5 |
| 2 | < 1 | < 3.6 | < 3.6 | 0 | 5.48 ± 0.50b | 1.10 × 104 a | 7.71 × 103 a | 4 |
| 3 | < 1 | 23 | < 3.6 | 0 | 6.54 ± 0.16a | 1.10 × 104 a | 5.32 × 103 a | 5 |
| 4 | 3.1 ± 0.63 | 5.56 × 102 | 1.44 | 3 | 5.67 ± 0.25ab | 1.10 × 103 b | 1.53 × 103 a | 5 |
| 5 | < 1 | 2.04 × 10 | 9.36 | 4 | 5.09 ± 0.48b | 1.10 × 103 b | 1.14 × 103 a | 5 |
ASamples from producer A comprise only the averages obtained each week, without undergoing any statistical analyses. BSamples from producer B were statistically evaluated concerning potential differences between sampling weeks; a,bMeans ± standard deviations in the same row differ significantly (p < 0.05) and were obtained from five experimental replicates. CTukey’s test; DKruskal‒Wallis test, chi-square = 24.000 and p = 0.000; EKruskal‒Wallis test, chi-square = 7.334 and p = 0.119. TC total coliforms, TTC thermotolerant coliforms, MPN/ml most likely number per milliliter, CFU/ml colony forming unit per milliliter. *Total E. coli isolates refer to the number of E. coli per sample collected, and these isolates are identified in Table 3. Minimum limits established for pasteurized milk: < 1 log CFU/ml for Enterobacteriaceae [17, 18], < 1 log CFU/ml or 7.4 MPN/ml for TC and TTC [5, 16]