Sources and routes of contamination of raw milk with Listeria monocytogenes and its control

To identify the source of contamination of raw bulk milk with Listeria, we attempted to isolate the bacteria from various samples such as cattle-related samples, bulk storage tanks and the environments on three farms. On farms A and B, Listeria monocytogenes was repeatedly isolated from raw milk, while on farm C, it was scarcely isolated from it. On the former farms, Listeria was detected in cattle-related samples and the environments. On the other hand, only one fecal sample on the latter farm was Listeria-positive. Especially, we demonstrated that the bulk tank on farm A was contaminated with L. monocytogenes. Then, L. monocytogenes was controlled by continuously washing the bulk tank on farm A with alkaline detergent.