## 3 Results and Discussion  
The survival levels of MRSA in milk cream are exhibited in Figure 1. The initial analysis revealed that MRSA counts in the treated samples presented a reduction of up to 3.41-fold following pasteurization (4.82 log CFU/mL reduction) and 3.25-fold after thermosonication (4.72 log CFU/mL reduction), in comparison with the untreated group (IUNT). These findings emphasize the significant impact of both pasteurization and thermosonication in reducing MRSA levels, thereby enhancing the safety and quality of the cream. In addition, the treatments subjected to thermosonication, denoted as US1 to US6, exhibited no significant differences (\(p>\) 0.05) when compared with the inoculated treatments \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Treatment**} & \multicolumn{5}{c}{**Processing Parameters**} \\ \cline{2-6}  & **Power (W)** & **Pulse (s)** & **Energy Density (j/cm\({}^{3}\))** & **Time** & **Temperature (\({}^{\circ}\)C)** \\ \hline IUNT & - & - & - & - & - \\ \hline NIP-72 & - & - & - & 15 s & 72 \\ \hline NIP-65 & - & - & - & 40 min & 65 \\ \hline IP-72 & - & - & - & 15 s & 72 \\ \hline IP-65 & - & - & - & 40 min & 65 \\ \hline US1 & 31 & 0 & 78 & 3 s & 72 \\ \hline US2 & 31 & 0 & 140 & 5 s & 72 \\ \hline US3 & 31 & 0 & 290 & 10 s & 72 \\ \hline US4 & 35 & 30 & 4900 & 5 min & 65 \\ \hline US5 & 33 & 30 & 9700 & 10 min & 65 \\ \hline US6 & 35 & 30 & 23,800 & 25 min & 65 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* IUNT, inoculated and untreated; NIF-72, not inoculated and rapid pasteurization; NP-65, not inoculated and slow pasteurization; IP-72, inoculated and rapid pasteurization; IP-65, inoculated and slow pasteurization; US1, inoculated, rapid pasteurization, and 3 s sonication; US2, inoculated, rapid pasteurization, and 5 s sonication; US3, inoculated, rapid pasteurization, and 10 s sonication; US4, inoculated, slow pasteurization, and 5 min sonication; US5, inoculated, slow pasteurization, and 25 min sonication.  
\end{table} 
Table 1: Processing parameters used in the milk cream treatments. subjected to conventional pasteurization (IP-72 and IP-65) or the thermosonicated treatments themselves. This intriguing observation indicates that thermosonication showcases potential antimicrobial effectiveness on par with conventional pasteurization methods for reducing MRSA levels. Importantly, it achieves this comparable efficacy with significantly reduced processing time during cream treatment, leading to improved productivity and resource utilization. Further, it is essential to highlight that all treatments subjected to either pasteurization or thermosonication displayed significant differences (\(p<0.05\)) when compared with the inoculated and untreated control group (IUNT), underscoring the efficacy of both technological approaches. Thus, the absence of significant differences among these treatments suggests their equal viability as options for enhancing product safety. Furthermore, the clear disparity between these treatments and the untreated control underscores the pivotal role of these processing methods in mitigating bacterial contamination in dairy products, especially when dealing with antibiotic-resistant strains like MRSA. In the dairy industry, the battle against MRSA emerges as a significant concern, and our research demonstrates that both pasteurization and thermosonication yield statistically substantial reductions in MRSA counts in milk cream. The deliberate creation of acoustic cavitation, facilitated by the application of low-amplitude frequencies, has emerged as a pivotal mechanism for cell destruction [9]. This controlled process results in the formation of microbubbles, whose subsequent collapse generates substantial rates of micro-shearing within the cream. It is worth noting that variables such as the frequency, intensity, and duration of ultrasound exposure have surfaced as critical determinants influencing the observed effects on reducing microbial load in milk [14].