Raw Goat Milk Research Articles

Milk outbreaks of tick-borne encephalitis in Slovakia, 2012-2016.

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is most commonly transmitted to humans via the bite of an infected tick. Alimentary infection through the consumption of TBEV-contaminated dairy products is also well-documented and is responsible for some diseases in endemic areas. The aim of the study was to emphasize the risk of contracting tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) by consuming raw milk and dairy products and to describe TBE epidemics in Slovakia for the period 2012-2016. The data on epidemics were obtained from the Annual Reports for the period 2012-2016 available on the website of the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic. Medical records of patients hospitalized during epidemics were provided by the Department of Infectology and Travel Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, and the Louis Pasteur University Hospital in Košice. During the period 2012-2016, 13 smaller or larger TBE epidemic outbreaks were recorded in the Slovak Republic. The two outbreaks of TBE reported in 2012 were associated with the consumption of raw goat's milk and dairy products. The first case was an outbreak involving 12 infected people in the Lučenec District. The second case was a family outbreak in the Žilina District, where 3 persons out of 4 family members were infected. In 2013, one epidemic was reported involving 5 persons following the consumption of sheep's cheese from a farm in the Prešov District. One outbreak with 11 cases was reported in 2014. The investigation confirmed its association with the consumption of sheep's cheese in a restaurant located in the Ružomberok District. In 2015, 4 epidemics were described related to the consumption of goat's/sheep's milk and cheese (Žilina District, Krupina District, Kysucké Nové Mesto District, Trenčín District). In 2016, there were 5 TBE epidemics related to the consumption of milk and dairy products. The largest TBE epidemic outbreak in the last 5 years occurred in the Košice District. In this outbreak approximately 500 people were exposed, and 44 contracted the disease. Infected persons confirmed consumption of sheep's cheese from a farm. Consumption of milk and dairy products made only from pasteurized milk, as well as the immunization of humans and animals are the most effective preventive measures against TBE.

Non-invasive monitoring of curd syneresis upon renneting of raw and heat-treated cow's and goat's milk

Molecular mobility of water during curd syneresis was investigated in raw and heat-treated cow's and goat's whole milk by Time-Domain 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (TD-NMR). Rennet was added to raw and heat-treated (72 °C) milk inside the NMR magnet at 40 °C, and curd evolution was monitored non-invasively over time. Distributions of 1H NMR spin–spin relaxation time constants (T2) were obtained at time zero (just after rennet addition), after 30 min (complete curd coagulation) and during serum expulsion (syneresis), every 10 min up to 70 min. Relaxation times and abundances of detected 1H populations were calculated at each time point. Although further statistical validation would require a larger sample number, raw and heat-treated milk and the corresponding curd samples showed different NMR behaviour. It can be concluded that TD-NMR is able to identify differences between the molecular dynamics characterising raw milk and curd, and their heat-treated counterparts.

Quality of goat's milk produced on farms in the Paraná State - Brazil

The consumption of goat's milk has increased significantly in Brazil. In 2014, its production was 153 thousand tons, and the Paraná state is responsible for the production of 380 thousand liters. Although the government regulates goat milk, this raw material is not widely studied in Brazil. The objective of this work was to study its microbiological and physicochemical characteristics. A total of 32 samples from 8 Paraná State farms were analyzed. The microbial indicators of hygiene, psychrotrophic bacteria, L. monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. were evaluated. We used physicochemical tests of goat’s milk that were established by the Brazilian legislation. In addition, phosphatase activity, pH, conductivity, boiling test, and urea content were measured. The average concentrations of mesophilic aerobes, coliforms, E. coli, coagulase positive Staphylococcus and psychrotrophic microorganisms were 4.10, 2.38, 0.65, 2.06 and 4.02 log CFU mL-1, respectively. The samples did not present L. monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. In the physicochemical analysis, 90.63% of the samples presented at least one parameter outside the legal standards. In the somatic cell count, 73.33% of the samples had counts higher than 1 x 106 cells mL-1. Raw goat's milk produced in Paraná has high coliform and psychrotrophic counts, indicating poor hygiene during milking. The fluctuating values of the physicochemical data indicate that additional studies are required to determine the parameters that reflect the Brazilian conditions of goat milk production.

Occurrence of Toxoplasma gondii in raw goat, sheep, and camel milk in Upper Egypt.

Background and Aim:Toxoplasmosis is a worldwide zoonotic disease with harmful effects on animal and human health. Ingestion of contaminated raw milk has been suggested as a vehicle for transmission of Toxoplasma gondii to human. The present study was performed for the detection of T. gondii in raw milk samples of goat, sheep, and camel in Upper Egypt using two different techniques (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA] and quantitative polymerase chain reaction [qPCR]).Materials and Methods:This study was conducted to determine the T. gondii prevalence using ELISA and qPCR in raw goat, sheep, and camels milk (30 samples for each) collected from different locations in Upper Egypt.Results:T. gondii IgG antibodies were detected in 90.0, 60.0, and 3.33% of goat, sheep, and camel milk samples, respectively. From the positive samples of T. gondii IgG, the parasitic DNA was detected only in two examined milk samples, one of them was present in goat milk sample and another one was found in sheep milk sample. On the other hand, the parasite was not detected in camels’ milk samples.Conclusion:These results concluded that the raw milk was contaminated by T. gondii tachyzoites which could be a source of human infection. Restricted hygienic programs should be implemented in the animal farms to decrease the risk of milk contamination by this parasite.

Risk Assessment of Certain Heavy Metals and Trace Elements in Milk and Milk Products Consumed in Aswan Province.

Considering that pollutants transformed to human body through food consumption, food safety is of great concern to consumers. Because consumption of milk contaminated with heavy metals poses serious threats to consumer's health. This study was conducted to evaluate the concentration of heavy metals and its risk with the consumption of milk and milk products in Aswan Province . A total of 20 samples of raw fresh buffalo, cow, sheep and goat milk and 16 samples of milk products of Kareish cheese, Domiati cheese, Mish and Samna were analyzed for the presence of heavy metals of Cadmium (Cd) and Lead (Pb) and trace elements of Copper (Cu) and Zinc (Zn) via Atomic Adsorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The results showed that the concentration of total heavy metals differed between different areas, it was the highest in Edfu but the least in Toshka. With the analysis of metals concentration in milk of different species, the results showed higher concentration of total metals in sheep and goat milk combined with low content of Cd and high content of Zn and Cu than that of cow and buffalo milk. Comparing the Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn concentrations in locally manufactured milk products with the permissible upper limit of EOS (1993), the results are within the permissible limit. The health risk assessment of metals was assessed on the basis of determining of EDI and THQ for inhabitants through the consumption of contaminated milk and milk products. The EDI of Cd and Pb contributed to 59.7% and 20.48% of PTDI, while Zn contributed to 0.0345 to 2.582% and 0.0475 to 3.55% of RDA for male and female, respectively, but the Cu contributed to 0.0555 to 7.466 % of RDA. The results also showed that THQ of all metals under studies are less than one via the consumption of milk and milk products which means that inhabitants in Aswan Governorate will not exposed to health risk from the consumption of raw milk and milk product.

Effect of mid-line or low-line milking systems on lipolysis and milk composition in dairy goats

AbstractTwo experiments were carried out to investigate how milking in mid-line (ML) affects the lipolysis level and milk composition in goat livestock, in comparison with low-line (LL) milking. The first experiment took place, in triplicate, on an experimental farm. For each replicate, a crossover design (62 goats, two treatments, ML and LL, in two periods each lasting 4 days) was used. Milk samples were taken daily at 0 and 24 h after milking. In the first experimental replicate, some enzymatic coagulation cheeses were made, which were assessed by a panel of tasters at 50 and 100 days of maturation. In the second experiment, the lipolysis level and composition of tank milk from 55 commercial dairy goat farms (25 ML and 30 LL) were analysed, in milk samples taken in three different weeks. The results of the first experiment showed that ML milking increased free fatty acid (FFA) concentration in raw goat's milk significantly (0.71 v. 0.40 mmol/l, respectively). However, in the milk samples taken from commercial farms the FFA concentration remained unaffected by the milking pipeline height (0.59 v. 0.58 mmol/l for ML and LL, respectively). No significant differences were found in the milk composition, nor in the sensory characteristics in the cured cheeses, which suggests that factors other than the milkline height are able to influence the level of lipolysis under commercial conditions. Therefore, ML milking should not be discouraged, provided that the correct functioning and management of the milking operation and milk storage on the farm is guaranteed.

Evaluation of Fresh Cheese Quality Prepared with Newly Isolated Nisin Z-Producing Lactococcus lactis Bacteria.

The main task of the present study was to evaluate an impact of three nisin Z-producing Lactococcus lactis bacteria newly isolated from raw goat milk for some fresh cow cheese characteristics during the storage. Microbiological evaluation for Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and viable lactic acid bacteria counts and determination of pH, titratable acidity, and lactic acid concentration of produced cheese were performed after 0, 24, 48, 72, and 96h. Sensory analysis for the evaluation of acidity, flavor intensity, color intensity, bitterness, and crumbliness of prepared cheese was performed. The changes of volatile compounds in fresh cheese were evaluated using headspace solid phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Chemometric methods were applied for the data analysis. Study showed that tested bacteria are suitable for the manufacturing of fresh cheese and possible application for fresh cheese biopreservation, as pathogenic bacteria did not grow during 4days (96h); chemometric analysis revealed that L. lactis strain LL56 was the most similar to commercially available L. lactis ATCC11454.

A rapid method on identifying disqualified raw goat's milk based on total bacterial count by using dielectric spectra

Chinese national food safety standard for raw milk regulates that the milk is regarded as hygiene disqualified milk if its total bacterial count (TBC) exceeds 2 × 106 CFU/ml. To provide a rapid method for identifying hygiene disqualified milk, the dielectric spectra of 150 raw goat's milk samples were obtained. The partial least squares discriminant analysis, support vector machine (SVM), and extreme learning machine algorithms were applied to build models to identify whether the milk was hygiene qualified or disqualified on TBC. The results showed that SVM based on principal component analysis was the best model with total identification accuracy rate of 100%. The research indicates that the dielectric spectra could be used to detect whether the TBC of milk exceeds the national standard or not, and provides useful information on developing a rapid detector to evaluate milk hygienic quality in-situ or on-line.

The Hygienic Quality of Raw Romanian Goat Milk Depending on the Milking Season

The milk samples were yielded by manual milking from a goat farm that was maintained in extensive system, at monthly intervals during the production period (spring, summer, autumn). Goat milk from a traditional stall in the Maramures County, depending on the lactation period and the season has been analyzed in this study. The milk samples were collected aseptically and transported in laboratory for microbiological analysis. During springtime, when milking is done three times a day, and the amount of milk is higher, the total number of germs is 77.8×103 CFU/ml. A smaller number compared to the number of microorganisms recorded in the summer (97.3×103 CFU/ml) when milking is done twice a day and there are higher temperatures. During autumn, in the conditions of low milk production, at the end of the lactation period and when the samples are harvested only once a day, the number of microorganisms was 81.5×103 CFU /ml. Somatic cells from milk indicating an excess of the normal values especially towards the end of the lactation period. Particular attention should be paid to hygiene conditions when handling milk, to improve its quality. Thus, goat milk has a higher bacterial load (SPC) during summer, and SCC exceeds the recommended limits, especially in the autumn.

Elemental Distribution and Fatty Acid Profile of Raw Goat Milk: Effect of Dietary Olive Pellets on Milk Nutritional Value

Elemental Distribution and Fatty Acid Profile of Raw Goat Milk: Effect of Dietary Olive Pellets on Milk Nutritional Value

A cluster of two human cases of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) transmitted by unpasteurised goat milk and cheese in Germany, May 2016

In May 2016, two cases of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) were confirmed by serology (positive IgM and IgG antibodies against TBE virus (TBEV) in serum), with a possible link to raw milk and cheese from a goat farm in a region in Baden-Württemberg, Germany not previously known as TBE-endemic. The outbreak investigation identified 32 consumers of goat dairy products (29 consumers, one farm employee, two owners) of whom none had IgM antibodies against TBEV 3–8 weeks after consumption. Of the 27 notified TBE cases in the State, none reported consumption of raw goat milk or cheese from the suspected farm. Five of 22 cheese samples from 18 different batches were RT-qPCR-positive for TBEV -genome, and two of the five samples were confirmed by virus isolation, indicating viability of TBEV in the cheese. Nine of the 45 goats had neutralising TBEV antibodies, two of them with a high titre indicating recent infection. One of 412 Ixodes ricinus was RT-qPCR-positive, and sequencing of the E gene from nucleic acid extracted from the tick confirmed TBEV. Phylogenetic analyses of tick and cheese isolates showed 100% amino acid homology in the E gene and a close relation to TBEV strains from Switzerland and Austria.

Identification of the first bacteriocin isolated in Lebanon extracted via a modified adsorption-desorption method and its potential food application

Introduction: The raw goat milk is considered as a good source of novel bacteriocinogenic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains.
 Method: The bacteriocin, which named enterocin CMUL20-2 was secreted by Enterococcus faecium CMUL20-2. This bacterial strain was originally isolated from raw goat’s milk, was extracted by using a modified adsorption-desorption method and purified via RP-HPLC. antimicrobial activity was tested against several pathogenic and spoilage microbes.
 Results: The enterocin CMUL20-2 showed a strong adsorption on cell wall of producer strain even in acidic environment which facilitate its extraction in only two simple steps. The recovered purified enterocin has decreased procedure time and diminished the number of undesirable molecules present in Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) broth. The recovered enterocin showed antimicrobial activity against several foodborne pathogenic and spoilage microbes.
 Conclusion: The recovered enterocin was able to tolerate a variety of food chain conditions such as high temperature, pH and storage stability, and it can be a good candidate to protect food from spoilage microbes

DETECTION OF CRYPTOSPORIDIUM OOCYSTS IN OVINE AND CAPRINE RAW MILK IN RELATION TO REARING MANAGEMENT

During the present study an investigation was made for the assessment of the availability of oocysts of Cryptosporidium spp. in 100 samples of raw milk of sheep and goats reared in various places (Baasheqa, Hamdania and Tilkaif) in Ninevah, Iraq. Results revealed that the incidence rate of Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts in raw ovine and caprine milk samples were 32% and 46%, respectively. The type of rearing management has an effect on the incidence of oocysts in raw milk of these animals. Results showed that the contamination with Cryptosporidium oocysts in mixed (sheep and goats) rearing management of there animals was higher (p < 0.05) than separate rearing management.

A Comparative Study on Physicochemical Characteristics of Raw Goat Milk Collected from Different Farms in Malaysia.

This study was conducted to determine the physical and chemical composition of goat milk produced by eight local farms located in the central region of Malaysia. Farms 1 to 4 (F1-SC, F2-SP, F3-SP, F4-SBC) reared Saanen-type goats while farms 5 to 8 (F5-JK, F6-JPEC, F7-JTC, F8-JC), Jamnapari-type goats. The common feedstuffs used in all farms comprised of fresh or silage from Napier grass, feed pellets, and brans while two farms, F5-JK and F6-JPEC supplemented the feeds with soybean-based product. The total solid content, dry matter, and proximate composition of goat milk and feedstuffs from the different farms were determined and the results analysed using principal component analysis. Total solid content of goat milk from the Jamnapari crossbreed had the highest solid content ranging from 11.81% to 17.54% compared to milk from farms with Saanen and Saanen crossbreed (10.95% to 14.63%). Jamnapari-type goats from F5-JK, F6-JPEC, and F8-JC had significantly higher (p < 0.05) milk fat and protein contents (7.36%, 7.14%, and 6.59% fat; 5.08%, 6.19%, and 4.23% protein, respectively) than milk from other farms but, milk produced by Saanen-type goats from F4-SBC contained similar protein content (4.34%) to that from F8-JC. Total ash and carbohydrate contents in milk ranged between 0.67% to 0.86% and 3.26% to 4.71%, respectively, regardless of goat breed. Feeding soybean-based products appear to have a positive influence on milk fat and protein content in Jamnaparitype goats.

Zoonotic Importance of Some Pathogenic Bacteria Isolated from Small Ruminants' Milk and Hands of Dairy Workers

Staphylococcus aureus and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli are among zoonotic bacterial food-borne pathogens causing illness ranged from diarrhoea to fatal conditions. This study was undertaken to evaluate the occurrence of Staph. aureus and E. coli in small ruminants' raw milk and hands of dairy workers at small-scale production units, Giza, Egypt. A total of 420 raw milk samples were obtained from apparently healthy sheep and goats, also, hand swabs (n=46) from workers at the units under investigation were examined. Overall, Staph. aureus (13.1%, 55/420) and E. coli (26.2%, 110/420) isolates were obtained from raw milk of sheep and goats. However, only Staph. aureus (15.2%, 7/46) was recovered from hand swabs of dairy workers. Using PCR, all the tested Staph. aureus isolates from milk and hand swabs yielded specific bands of Thermonuclease ( nuc ) gene at 279 bp, however, amplification of virulence ( eae ) gene encoding the intimin protein of E. coli produced an amplicon of 917 bp in 45% of the tested E. coli isolates. In conclusion, our findings provide an overview about Staph. aureus and E. coli contamination in raw milk of small ruminants locally bred by smallholders and suggest probably transmission of Staph. aureus from hands of dairy workers that contaminate the milk or udder of apparently healthy animals. Reporting of such organisms from milk indicates the need for strict hygienic measures during milking at these production units.

Foodborne pathogens in raw milk and cheese of sheep and goat origin: a meta-analysis approach

This review compiles published information concerning the incidence of pathogenic microorganisms — Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus and shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) — in goat and sheep raw milk and cheese. Meta-analytical data were extracted from 37 primary studies undertaken in Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Iran, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK and USA. Pooled frequencies of detection of pathogens were found to be similar for sheep and goat raw milk: Salmonella (1.4–2.4%), L. monocytogenes (2.9–3.6%), STEC (4.3–4.8%) and S. aureus (35–39%). Likewise, in goat cheeses, regardless of being made of raw or heat-treated milk, S. aureus has been the most frequent contaminant (16.0%), whereas in raw milk cheeses, regardless of origin, the pooled prevalence of S. aureus is equally high in hard (34.6%) and soft cheeses (25.7%). L. monocytogenes is another important pathogen in sheep and goat milk cheeses (3.6–12.8%) while E. coli O157 strains with virulence genes (4.3%) also appear to persist during cheese manufacture. As expected, STEC has a higher pooled incidence in raw milk cheeses (10.0%) than in pasteurised milk cheeses (4.7%). Thus, the moderate contamination in raw milk and cheese of sheep and goat origin, revealed by this meta-analysis, advocates the reinforcement of general prevention measures such as close monitoring of hygiene on farms and eradication of disease by sheep and goat dairy farmers. Moreover, for the production of traditional cheeses made of raw milk, preventive measures during processing, namely, regular sterilisation of dairy equipment, process monitoring and hygiene of operators, should be even more stringent.

Polyphasic approach to study physico-chemical, microbiological and sensorial characteristics of artisanal Nicastrese goat's cheese

Nicastrese goat's cheese is produced in the South of Italy under traditional procedures, from raw goat milk without any starter cultures addition. Samples from milk to ripened cheese provided by 4 different farms were subjected to a polyphasic approach to study their physico-chemical, microbiological and sensorial characteristics. In addition, volatile organic compounds formation in the final products was studied. Overall, gross composition and microbiological data revealed a significant variability among samples, which was confirmed by both the volatile organic compounds generated in the final products and by the sensorial data. Conventional technique allowed us to identify 720 isolates, mainly belonging to Lactococcus lactis, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus brevis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, and Enterococcus faecalis. Culture-independent methods revealed shifts in the microbial community structure, with an increase in biodiversity of metabolically active bacterial species, from milk to cheese samples. Analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) allowed the identification of 36 compounds; free fatty acids and ketones represented the main detected, followed by alcohols and esters. Moreover, statistical analysis was performed in order to correlate VOCs to bacterial species. Data showed that ester compounds as well as alcohol and aldehydes were positively correlated to NSLAB, indicating that the occurrence of L. casei, L. plantarum and L. brevis species is relevant for the VOCs formation in the final product.

High prevalence of hepatitis E virus infection in goats

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a major cause of acute hepatitis worldwide, primarily transmitted by fecal-oral route. Zoonotic transmission of HEV from HEV-infected pigs (pork) or cows (milk) to human or non-human primate has been confirmed, but the risk of HEV in goat is still rarely assessed. In the present study, stool, blood, tissues, and milk of goat were collected for HEV infection investigation from Dali City of Yunnan Province in China, where raw mutton and goat milk are traditionally consumed. Surprisingly, a high prevalence of HEV infection in goat was found. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that all HEV isolates from goat belong to genotype 4 and subtype 4h, and shared a high similarity homology (>99.6%) with HEV isolated from human, swine, and cows in the same area. Results suggested that goats are a previously unrecognized HEV host.

Bacterial diversity in goat milk from the Guanzhong area of China

In this study, the V3 and V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene from metagenomic DNA were sequenced to identify differences in microbial diversity in raw milk of Saanen and Guanzhong goats from the Guanzhong area of China. The results showed that Proteobacteria was the predominant phylum, accounting for 71.31% of all phyla identified in milk from the 2 breeds, and Enterobacter was the predominant genus (24.69%) within the microbial community. Microbial alpha diversity from Saanen goat milk was significantly higher than that of Guanzhong goat milk based on bioinformatic analysis of indices of Chao1, Shannon, Simpson, observed species, and the abundance-based coverage estimator. Functional genes and their likely metabolic pathways were predicted, which demonstrated that the functional genes present in the bacteria in goat milk were enriched in pathways for amino acid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism, which represented 11.93 and 11.23% of functional genes, respectively. Physicochemical properties such as pH, protein, fat, and AA levels were also determined and correlations made with microbial diversity. We detected a significant difference in the content of lactose and 6 AA, which were higher in Saanen milk than in Guanzhong milk, and positively correlated with microbial carbohydrate metabolism and AA metabolism. Lactococcus, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Enterococcus, and Streptococcus, which are lactose-utilizing genera, were more abundant in Saanen milk than in Guanzhong milk. Higher levels of lactose in Saanen goat milk may explain its greater microbial diversity. We also demonstrated that most of the AA metabolism-related bacterial genera (e.g., Massilia, Bacteroides, Lysobacter) were enriched in Saanen goat milk. In this research, both probiotic and pathogenic bacteria were identified in goat milk, which provided the microbial information necessary to direct the utilization of beneficial microbial resources and prevent the development of harmful organisms in goat milk.

A large meta-analysis of the global prevalence rates of S. aureus and MRSA contamination of milk

ABSTRACTPast reports have indicated a high prevalence of milk contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), but the pooled prevalence rates of S. aureus and MRSA in pasteurized and boiled cow's milk, raw cow's milk, and raw Caprinae milk (raw sheep's milk and raw goat's milk) and across different periods, continents, economic conditions and purchase locations remain inconsistent. We searched relevant articles published in PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science before July 2016. The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Statement was used to evaluate the quality of 93 included studies. We observed that the pooled prevalence rates of S. aureus contamination in pasteurized and boiled cow's milk, raw cow's milk, and raw Caprinae milk were 15.4% (95% CI, 6.1–27.5%), 33.5% (95% CI, 29.5–37.7%) and 25.8% (95% CI, 17.5–35.0%), respectively. The pooled prevalence rates of MRSA contamination were 4.9% (95% CI, 0.0–15.7%), 2.3% (95% CI, 1.3–3.6%), and 1.1% (95% CI, 0.5–1.8%), respectively. The prevalence of S. aureus contamination in raw cow's milk increased over time. However, the pooled prevalence of raw cow's milk contaminated with S. aureus was lowest in European studies. These findings give an indication of the consequence of better milk regulation in Europe. High S. aureus prevalence rates in raw milk collected from farms and processing companies pose a potential threat to consumers. The implementation of good hygiene practices, appropriate health knowledge, and food safety principles at the farm level, as well as the prudent use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine and heat treatment before drinking, are necessary to reduce the potential risk of S. aureus and MRSA contamination.