Recent advances in viability detection of foodborne pathogens in milk and dairy products

Abstract

Milk and dairy products are recommended for daily consumption due to the abundant nutrients necessary for people. These nutrients, however, support the growth of pathogens, leading to foodborne outbreaks. During these years, viability detection of foodborne pathogens in milk and dairy food has drawn the great attention of researchers. A summary of each type of viability detection practice is offered, including their principles, the operating steps, and applications in dairy products. These methods are faster, reliable, and can provide information on physiological states of foodborne pathogens existing in dairy products compared with traditional detection techniques such as culturing methods and PCR. Additionally, complex dairy components as well as low microbial contamination levels result in difficulty in microbial detection in dairy products, hence, ways to eliminate the interference of the dairy matrix and thus greatly increase the sensitivity are discussed. Also, some potential detection techniques are proposed that could be used for dairy products in the future to improve the detection efficiency. This review will enable a better understanding of microbial viability detection in dairy products which can guarantee food safety.