Abstract
The goal of this study was to investigate milk and some dairy products for fecal pollution indicators. Therefore, 180 random samples of raw milk, Kareish cheese, Domiati cheese, processed cheese, ice cream and yoghurt (30 each) were collected from Assiut city. All the examined raw milk and Kareish cheese samples were contaminated with coliforms, and their percentages in Domiati cheese, processed cheese, ice cream and yoghurt samples were 23.3, 16.7, 93.3 and 46.7%, respectively, while, 60, 83.3, 6.7, 6.7, 56.7 and 36.7% of the examined samples were contaminated with fecal coliforms, respectively. 3.3, 33.3, 3.3, 3.3, 6.7 and 20% of the examined samples were contaminated with E. coli, respectively. The incidences of Enterococci were 83.3, 83.3, 26.7, 20, 70 and 40%, respectively, while Cl. perfringens was detected only in Kareish cheese samples in a percentage of 3.3%. It can be concluded that the high level of Enterococci in the examined milk and milk products samples declared that Enterococci is preferable as an indicator for fecal pollution.
Highlights
Milk is a food of complex biochemical composition and high water activity serving it as an excellent culture medium for the growth and multiplication of many kinds of microorganisms (Oliver et al, 2005)
Cl. perfringens was recovered from 3.3% of the evaluated Kareish cheese samples only, while it failed to be detected in the other products
The existence of coliforms and fecal coliforms in the examined raw milk samples were in parallel with those recorded by El-Zamkan (2007) and Abd El-Hameid (2002), respectively; while their presence in the examined Kareish cheese samples was in accordance to El-Zamkan (2007) and Ahmed et al (1987), respectively
Summary
Milk is a food of complex biochemical composition and high water activity serving it as an excellent culture medium for the growth and multiplication of many kinds of microorganisms (Oliver et al, 2005). Any food contaminated directly or indirectly with fecal material may theoretically contains one or more of these pathogens and can be potentially hazardous to consumers They include Escherichia coli, Enterococci and Clostridium perfringens which are considered the most important fecal indicator pathogens in milk. Enterococcus species were believed to be harmless to humans and considered unimportant medically because they produce bacteriocins and have been used widely over the last decade in the food industry as starter cultures (Foulquie Moreno et al, 2006) They are present as active strains in different commercial probiotic preparations as a result of their ability to colonize the gastrointestinal tract and to control pathogenic bacteria (Lund et al, 2002). According to the public health hazard of fecal pollution microorganisms, there is a need to investigate milk and some dairy products sold in Assiut city for the incidence of E. coli, Enterococci and Cl. perfringens, so that the best indicator of direct fecal contamination or plant sanitation in milk and some dairy products could be developed
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