Samples of UHT whole milk from eight different trademarks commercialized in Belo Horizonte, Brazil were examined for microbiological aspects from January to April, 1999. Of 80 milk samples, 33 (41.2%) showed high viable of aerobic mesophilic counts ranging from 1.3×10(4) to 1.4×10(5) CFU/ml (4.1 e 5.1 log CFU/ml) and were in disagreement with from Ministry of Agriculture of Brazil Official Microbiological Standards (RTIQ). Of 174 isolated microorganisms, 162 (93.0%) belonged to genus Bacillus, 3 (1.7%) were Micrococcus, 9 (5.2%) were Gram positive pleomorphic rods without spores. The last bacteria were suggestive of Corynebacterium like-organisms, however they were not classified as such. It was concluded that the UHT whole milk commercialized in Belo Horizonte does not fit the microbiological aspects set by RTIQ, when applied to the retail sale. Bacteria from Bacillus genus were the most isolated.
UHT milk; microbiology; Bacillus spp.; Brazil
