A case of sporadic ovine mastitis caused by Listeria monocytogenes and its effect on contamination of raw milk and raw-milk cheeses produced in the on-farm dairy

We describe a case of listerial mastitis in a flock of 130 sheep. The animals were housed at a farm where the bulk raw ewe milk was processed to produce raw milk soft cheese. List. monocytogenes was shed from the right mammary complex. Shedding was observed over a period of 99 d. A mean level of 4-56 x 10(4) cfu (colony forming units) Listeria monocytogenes/ml was recovered from the raw milk originating from the infected udder. The numbers ranged from 9x10(1) to 2.95x10(5). The bulk milk was contaminated by approx. 5.7x10(3) cfu/ml. In the cheese product, 2.0x10(2) cfu List. monocytogenes/g were constantly detectable for a period of 7d post manufacture. The starter culture used for coagulation had a pivotal influence on the behaviour of List. monocytogenes during cheesemaking. Using the same mesophilic buttermilk culture as used by the farmer allowed numbers of Listeria to increase 60-fold within 12 h owing to a delayed acidification of the bulk milk. Addition of a thermophilic yogurt culture reduced the numbers of Listeria within 8 h of incubation.