The effectiveness of common methods of cold-holding on the temperature of milk

Keeping self-serve milk below 4 °C may become difficult for a food premise operator who relies on the use of insulated containers for several hours. Although milk sold in Canada is pasteurized, it may have the potential to cause illness if exposed to improper temperatures. The primary objective of this study was to demonstrate which product would be the most effective at keeping milk cold for the longest period to decrease the potential risk of foodborne illness. A survey was conducted in food premises throughout the Niagara region to determine which products were most commonly used for cold-holding milk, followed by a time-series analysis to investigate how rapidly the temperature of milk increased when stored in typical containers after 8 hours. Results showed that vacuum-insulated carafes are the most effective at cold-holding and stainless-steel carton holders are the least effective. The Niagara survey showed that 8 of 27 premises visited used these poorly insulated stainless-steel carton holders, which may be additionally susceptible to human contamination from potentially pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus due to their open spout.