Norway – Microbiological control of pasteurised and unpasteurised dairy products, 2018

The four categories have been analysed for various disease-causing bacteria (pathogens). These choices are made in order to get the most information for each category.

The different categories are:

PN = pasteurised milk product produced in Norway.

P EU = pasteurised milk product produced outside Norway.

UN = unpasteurised milk product produced in Norway.

U EU = unpasteurised milk product produced outside Norway.
 

The various disease-causing infectious agents we analysed for:

Listeria monocytogenes (pathogen): PN, P EU, UN, U EU, number 189 pcs.

Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) (pathogen): UN, U EU, number 96 pcs.

E. coli (hygiene parameter): PN, UN, U EU, 169 st.

S. aureus (hygiene parameter): UN, number 71 st.

Toxins (enterotoxin) from S. aureus (pathogen): UN, U EU, number 96 pcs.

Salmonella (pathogen): U EU, number 25 st.

Listeria monocytogenes : No detection in 189 samples of dairy product.

Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC):
One finding in French red cow cheese of cow’s milk ( E. coli O-, stx2 and eae ). A total of 25 unpasteurised milk products produced outside Norway were examined. No findings in 71 unpasteurised milk products from Norway.

Escherichia coli (hygiene parameter):
In 73 pasteurised milk products from Norway, there was a detection and this was above the lower limit value (100 cfu / g) but below the upper limit value (1,000 cfu / g). No E. coli was detected above the detection limit of 10 colony forming units / g sample (cfu / g) in the other samples.

In 61 of the 71 unpasteurised milk products produced in Norway, E. coli was not detected above the detection limit of 10 colony-forming units / g sample (cfu / g). 3 st. (4.2%) was above 100 cfu / g.

In unpasteurised dairy products from the EU (25), 5 (20%) of the products had more than 100 cfu/ g E. coli. There is no microbiological criterion for E. coli in the regulations for unpasteurised cheeses.

Staphylococcus aureus:
Of 71 samples, none exceeded the regulatory limit of 10,000 cfu/ g.

Of the 96 unpasteurised dairy products examined, the enterotoxins AE Toxins (enterotoxins), which some S. aureus can produce , were not detected .

Salmonella was not detected in the 25 samples of unpasteurised milk products produced outside Norway.