MICROBIOLOGY OF THE

INDIGENOUS MILK PRODUCTS

INDIGENOUS MILK PRODUCTS
 The term ‘indigenous milk products’ refers
exclusively to dairy products of a particular
region or country .
 47% of total milk products in India is

converted to various indigenous products

 These products are the backbone of the

Indian confectionary
Concentrated Milk Products…….
 Khoa and Khoa Based Sweets
 Khoa is a concentrated whole milk product

obtained by open pan condensing of milk under

atmospheric pressure. According to Food Safety
and Standard Regulations 2011, Khoya is sold
as Pindi, Danedar, Dhap, Mawa or Kava. The
milk fat content shall not be less than 30% on
dry weight basis of finished product. It may
contain citric acid not more than 0.1% by weight
(danedar khoa) and free from added starch,
added sugar and added colouring matter.
Outlines of Khoa based Sweet
 Burfi (From Pindi): Prepared by mixing hot khoa and sugar in
karahi. After sugar is completely dissolved, the product is spread
as a thick layer over a tray. The pieces of desirable sizes are cut.
 Peda (From Pindi): Contains mainly khoa, sugar, dry fruits, silver
paper and cardamom. Khoa and sugar are mixed and cooked over a
slow fire. The cooked sweetened product is manually moulded into
a round shape by manipulating the mass with palm.
 Gulabjamun Gulabjamun (From Dhap): Prepared from mixing
Prepared from mixing khoa and maida (1:3) followed by the
addition of baking powder. A uniform dough is now obtained by
kneading the mixture with water. After forming uniform size balls,
they are fried in fat to give uniform brown colour and subsequently
immersing in sugar syrup.
 Kalakand (From Danedar): After boiling milk, citric acid solution is
added to partially coagulate the hot milk. Sugar is added by stirring
at a stage when the product obtains semi-solid consistency. The
product is now removed from the fire, set in tray and cut into
pieces
Microbiological Quality of Khoa, Burfi
and Peda
Khoa can serve as a favourable medium for
the growth of a variety of microorganisms due
to its high moisture content and good nutritive
value. The market khoa usually keeps well for
48 h under usual Indian conditions beyond
which it deteriorates due to microbial action.
These organisms gain access as contaminants
from different sources in to product. The rapid
spoilage of khoa is due to contamination with
molds from external sources.
 1. Acid producers, Acid producers, proteolytic
proteolytic, chromogenic chromogenic,
lipolytic lipolytic, aerobic sporeformers,
psychrotrophs, thermophiles, pathogens),
yeasts and molds occur in khoa.
 2. Psychrotrophs (Pseudomonas,

Achromobacter, Flavobacterium and

Alcaligenes) have been isolated from peda.
 3. In market burfi and peda, Gram-positive

mainly cocci, yeasts and molds were isolated

where proportion of yeasts and molds is
extremely low as compared to bacteria.
Pathogenic organisms from khoa,
burfi and peda
 Pathogens like Salmonella typhi, Shigella dysenteriae, Vibrio
cholerae and E. coli survive for long periods during storage
of khoa.
 Heat stable, coagulase positive, enterotoxin producing
staphylococci in khoa, burfi and peda is also present.
 Drug resistant coliforms and enteropathogenic E. coli have
also been isolated from khoa. The presence of coliforms in
the products indicates post-processing contamination.
 Contamination of products with Salmonella schottmuelleri
and Shigella flexneri is correlated with faecal contamination.
 S. aureus, a potent food poisoning organism, can multiply
in khoa, peda and burfi at ambient storage temperature as
well as at 37C.
Microbiological Quality of
Gulabjamun and Kalakand
 1. Kalakand can be contaminated with
thermophiles, mesophiles, yeasts and molds.
Food poisoning organisms (enterobacteria,
staphylococci, salmonellae) is rare.
 2. Gulabjamun is relatively safer from

microbiological point of view due to its

spongy and juicy nature as a result of soaking
in sugar syrup
KULFI
 It is a popular frozen dessert (indigenous ice cream)
 It differs from ice cream in that it contains no air, so
develop minor overrun
  The Bureau of Indian Standards has laid down the
following specifications for kulfi
 Milk fat 8.0
 Proteins 3.5
 Acidity 0.3
 Total colony count (per g) maximum 250,000.0
Coliform count (per g) maximum 100.0 Phosphatase
test -ve  As per one study an average staphylococcal
counts of 139X102 per gram of kulfi.
 Samples also showed presence of coliforms,
staphylococci, psychrotrophs, enterococci
and yeasts and molds in kulfi.
 A number of isolates showed positive result

for T DNase (thermostable), coagulase and

enterotoxins A and B and the incidences were
more in samples from push-cart vendors as
compared to those restaurants
 A number of reports showed heavy

contamination of market kulfi with

staphylococci and other pathogenic bacteria
Sources of the contamination:
  Additives like sugar, spices, fruits and flavour
constitute one of the major source of the
contamination 
 Addition of nuts such as almonds contaminated
with Aspergillus spp. can cause aflatoxicosis. 
 Aerial contamination  Dust, water, flies and insects
 Filling in improperly cleaned containers or cones
 Use of bad quality of ‘sherbat’ which are added to
the product before consumption Shelf-life: Storage
and distribution at a temperatureof -20 °C should
maintain the sensory quality of the kulfi
Kheer
 Kheer is a type of pudding from the Indian
subcontinent, made by boiling milk and sugar
with one of the following: rice, broken wheat,
tapioca, vermicelli, or sweet corn. It is
flavoured with cardamom, raisins, saffron,
cashews, pistachios, almonds or other dry
fruits and nuts
 Keeping Quality of Kheer The average shelf
life of kheer at 37 ˚C ± 1˚C is 2-3 days and
10-15 days at 4 ˚C ± 1 ˚C. 14.5.1
 Extension of shelf life of kheer Successful

attempts made to improve the shelf life of

kheer are given below:
 Addition of Nisin at the end of preparation

could extend the shelf life of kheer upto 8-10

days at 37˚C ± 1˚C and 100-150 days at 4 ±
1˚C.
Basundii
 Basundi is a heat-desiccated, thickened milk
dessert, having white to light caramel colour,
creamy consistency with soft textured flakes
that are uniformly suspended throughout the
product matrix. Basundi has a sweetish
caramel aroma.
Thank you....