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Evaluation And Exploration Of Microbial Quality And Safety Aspects Of Unpasteurized Retail Maine Dairy Products, Dhafer A.M.H Alshaibani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend dairy products as part of a healthy diet and these products are significant contributors of important nutrients. In the U.S., and Maine specifically, demand for locally-produced, minimally processed foods, including unpasteurized dairy, has increased during the past several decades. An analysis of retrospective microbial testing data for unpasteurized retail dairy products revealed increasing microbial quality from 1998-2016, despite a five-fold increase in sample numbers during this time. Higher percentages of samples were non-compliant with microbial quality standards during the summer months compared to winter. High coliform counts were the leading cause of non-compliant samples …