Growth kinetics of Staphylococcus aureus and background microorganisms in camel milk

Staphylococcus aureus is a common foodborne pathogen that is ubiquitous in nature. Consumption of contaminated foods, such as dairy products, can lead to food poisoning caused by heat-stable staphylococcal toxins that are not easily destroyed during pasteurization. The objective of this study was to investigate the growth kinetics of S. aureus and background microorganisms in camel milk stored at different temperatures between 8 and 43°C using one-step kinetic analysis to estimate the kinetic parameters from the observed growth curves. The growth of S. aureus showed apparent lag, exponential, and stationary phases, whereas no or negligible lag phase was observed for background microorganisms. Data analysis showed that the estimated minimum, optimum, and maximum growth temperatures were 5.9, 42.0, and 49.2°C for S. aureus, and 3.0, 38.6, and 49.2°C for the background microorganisms, respectively. The estimated optimum specific growth rate was higher for S. aureus (1.24 h^-1) than for background microorganisms (0.995 h^-1). This study found that camel milk may inhibit the growth of S. aureus, as it exhibits a lower specific growth rate than that in cow milk or cooked potato. It also has a longer lag phase than that in cow milk at comparable temperature ranges. This unique property is probably related to the presence of some antimicrobial compounds naturally occurring in camel milk. Validation of kinetic parameters and models showed that the root mean square error of prediction was only 0.5 log cfu/mL for S. aureus and background microorganisms, suggesting that the models are reasonably accurate. These models can be used for conducting risk assessments of S. aureus and predicting the general microbiological shelf life of camel milk to prevent foodborne staphylococcal poisoning.