Thermal Inactivation of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in Artificially Contaminated Milk by Direct Steam Injection

UNLABELLED: The efficiency of direct steam injection (DSI) at 105 °C for 3 s to inactivate Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in milk at a pilot-plant scale was investigated. Milk samples were artificially contaminated with M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis and also with cow fecal material naturally infected with M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis. We also tested milk artificially contaminated with Mycobacterium smegmatis as a candidate surrogate to compare thermal inactivation between M. smegmatis and M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis. Following the DSI process, no viable M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis or M. smegmatis was recovered using culture methods for both strains. For pure M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis cultures, a minimum reduction of 5.6 log10 was achieved with DSI, and a minimum reduction of 5.7 log10 was found with M. smegmatis. The minimum log10 reduction for wild-type M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis naturally present in feces was 3.3. In addition, 44 dairy and nondairy powdered infant formula (PIF) ingredients used during the manufacturing process of PIF were tested for an alternate source for M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis and were found to be negative by quantitative PCR (qPCR). In conclusion, the results obtained from this study indicate that a >7-fold-log10 reduction of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis in milk can be achieved with the applied DSI process. IMPORTANCE: M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis is widespread in dairy herds in many countries. M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis is the causative agent of Johne's disease in cattle, and infected animals can directly or indirectly (i.e., fecal contamination) contaminate milk. Despite much research and debate, there is no conclusive evidence that M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis is a zoonotic bacterium, i.e., one that causes disease in humans. The presence of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis or its DNA has been reported in dairy products, including pasteurized milk, cheese, and infant formula. In light of this, it is appropriate to evaluate existing mitigation measures to inactivate M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis in dairy products. The work conducted in this study describes the efficacy of direct steam injection, a thermal process commonly used in the dairy industry, to eliminate M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis and a surrogate bacterium in milk, thus ensuring the absence of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis in dairy products subject to these process conditions.