In June 2018, the Food Surveillance Programme of the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) detected excessive Bacillus cereus at a level of 4.6 million per gram in a packed pasteurised milk collected at a local supermarket. In September, in response to a food complaint, another packed pasteurised milk was found to contain Bacillus cereus at an excessive level of 3.8 million per gram. According to the Microbiological Guidelines for Food of CFS, if a ready-to-eat food contains Bacillus cereus at a level of more than 100 000 per gram, it is considered unsatisfactory. This article discusses Bacillus cereus in milk from the perspective of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) and the measures to control its growth during production and storage.
