4. Conclusions

Quality system of food industries must apply the current regulations and guarantee the compliance of specifications indicated by customer. Industries can be tougher from the quality point of view by means the application of ISO 22000 and 9000:2000 Standards whose compliance provides confidence and positioning with respect to other companies. One of the most relevant parts when developing a HACCP consists in the identification and classification of hazards and analyzes possible incidences and correcting measures. Predictive microbiology is an efficient tool for the prediction of microbial safety and quality associated with specific steps along the milk production and distribution chain. To this respect, the case study presented herein evidenced that the current temperature and time values observed in the milk production chain are suitable to maintain milk microbial quality. In addition, specific critical limits were identified, especially for storage time at silo, where times shorter than 36 h could be a reliable measure to reduce milk spoilage due to microbial protease activity after heat treatment.
