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Updated: Jul 7, 2026

A Method for Targeted 16S Sequencing of Human Milk Samples
Published on: March 23, 2018
Sensorial analysis of expressed human milk and its microbial load
Franz R Novak1, Ana R Junqueira, Manuela de S P C Dias
1Instituto Figueira, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. franz@fiocruz.br
Objective:
To verify the existence of a relationship between presence of off-flavor and microorganism load in quality control rejected samples of expressed human milk from a donor milk bank.
Methods:
A total of 30 samples of expressed human milk with off-flavor were tested for the occurrence of the following microorganisms: aerobic mesophilic, psycrotrophic, proteolytic, psycrotrophic proteolytic, thermoduric, psycrotrophic thermoduric, lactate and lipolytic bacteria, molds and yeasts and Staphylococcus aureus, total coliforms and thermophilic coliforms, in accordance with official methods.
Results:
Percentage occurrence of microorganisms was as follows: aerobic mesophilic = 80%; psycrotrophic = 36.7%; proteolytic = 46.7%; psycrotrophic proteolytic = 16.7%; thermoduric = 6.7%; psycrotrophic thermoduric = 0%; lactate bacteria = 50%; lipolytic = 10%; molds and yeasts = 6.7%; S. aureus = 30%; total coliforms = 53.3%; and thermophilic coliforms = 16.7%.
Conclusion:
A consistent relationship between presence of off-flavor and elevated microorganism counting was observed in the analyzed samples. This correlation highlights the importance of off-flavor research during selection and quality control processes in human milk banks.
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