AbstractBackgroundGoat milk and products from it are popular with the public in Slovakia. Consumers demand safe food. Therefore, methods to eliminate spoilage bacteria are necessary. This study focuses on susceptibility to lantibiotic bacteriocins of variable staphylococci, which were isolated from raw goat milk. A total of 53 raw goat milk samples collected from 283 goats in the regions of central and eastern Slovakia were analyzed.ResultsIn total, 37 strains were identified to use a combination of matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization time‐of‐flight spectrometry and phenotypization. They were allotted to 14 species, which can be involved in 7 different clusters. Staphylococci showed mostly low‐grade biofilm formation ability; six different strains were high‐grade biofilm‐forming. Staphylococcus xylosus SX 17/1 showed the highest biofilm formation ability value (3.16 ± 1.77). Staphylococci were deoxyribonuclease and mostly hemolysis negative (γ‐hemolysis). They all were susceptible to bacteriocins (inhibition activity up to 204,800 AU/ml).ConclusionsVariable staphylococcal species were detected in raw goat milk, mostly coagulase‐negative species, involving Staphylococcus arlettae. The species Staphylococcus hominis dominated. However, also the coagulase‐positive species Staphylococcus delphini and Staphylococcus schleiferi were detected. This is the first study involving detailed testing of staphylococci from Slovak raw goat milk and indication of a promising practical tool and prophylaxis using bacteriocins.