Characterization of the microbial community and its changes in liquid piglet feed formulations

The stability of the microbial populations in liquid piglet feed formulations was studied over a period of 3 months. Total aerobic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, proteolytic bacteria, amylolytic bacteria, lipolytic bacteria, Bacillus cereus group and yeasts and moulds were monitored using selective media. The results demonstrated a tendency for slight increases in the numbers of total aerobic bacteria (p = 0.002), lactic acid bacteria (p = 0.014), proteolytic bacteria (p = 0.006) and lipolytic bacteria (p = 0.003). The numbers of amylolytic bacteria (p = 0.791) and yeasts and moulds (p = 0.620) were more variable, and Bacillus cereus-like bacteria were nearly absent. Lactic acid bacteria, especially lactobacilli and leuconostocs, were the predominant population, indicating that a natural fermentation occurred, reducing the pH of the feeds to 4.7. The presence of proteolytic, lipolytic and amylolytic bacteria could theoretically lead to an improvement in the digestibility of the feeds.