Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 June 2009
In the investigation of an outbreak of acetone taint in bulk milk it was: (a) shown not to be due to the lactating animal; (b) reproduced by the inoculation into milk of a strain of Bact. cloacæ isolated from the tainted milk; (c) shown that seventy other strains of coliaerogenes organisms (including sixteen Bact. cloacæ) did not possess this ability to produce an acetone taint.
A search of the literature failed to produce a record of this taint being produced by factors other than acetonemia of the animal.
Note. Since writing the article another strain of Bact. cloacæ giving a positive Rothera's test has been isolated at Wye from a sample of milk which developed a typical sickly sweet taint on storage (Billing, E., personal communication, 5. xii. 55).