Yeast contamination potential in a carbonated soft drink industry

Abstract

Components of the filling valve in a gravity filling machine namely, tulip rubber, spreader rubber and vent tube were analyzed for yeasts using the membrane filtration method. After 5 days incubation, it was found that the tulip rubber had the highest yeast count of 9 cfu/20mls while the vent tube had the least count of 5 cfu/20mls. This indicates that the tulip rubber has the highest potential for contaminating finished products. Therefore, the tulip rubbers should be taken as a critical control point for control of yeast contamination during carbonated soft drink production. Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management Vol. 10(3) 2006: 157-158