Toxin Production by Psychrotrophic Bacillus spp. Present in Milk

Using a reversed passive latex agglutination assay, about 85% of psychrotrophic Bacillus spp. tested were shown to produce diarrhoegenic toxin during growth on brain heart infusion broth at 25°C. The majority of these strains were identified as Bacillus cereus or cereus -related strains. However, a number of other species was capable of synthesizing the toxin. Further investigation of four psychrotrophic Bacilli showed that the toxin was produced during growth in milk at temperatures ranging from 6 to 21°C. Toxin production increased with increasing temperatures and was not synthesized in appreciable quantities until the bacterial count exceeded 1 × 10⁷ cfu/ml.