Cheese is a dairy product with a high nutritional value, a unique flavor, aroma, a long shelf life, and a very different variety. Cheese may be contaminated with harmful microorganisms which may pose a risk to public health during the raw material procurement and production stages. This study investigated the microbiological quality of 60 white cheese samples, marketed in Afyonkarahisar province. The mean levels of total mesophilic aerobic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, coliform, Esherichia coli, coagulase-positive staphylococci, and yeast-mold were determined as 2,1x10 5 , 1,4x10 4 , 2,1x10 3 , 4,5x10 2 , 4,1x10 2 and 3,8x10 3 CFU/g, respectively. Also, Escherichia coli was found in 10% (6/60) of the samples between the level of 10 2 -10 5 . Consequently, the microbiological quality was found to be insufficient in some of the samples examined. Therefore, it is recommended to take necessary hygienic measures in raw material supply. In addition, necessary precautions should be taken in all stages of cheese production and attention should be paid to the personnel and equipment hygiene. Contribution/Originality:This study investigated the microbiological quality of 60 white cheese samples, marketed in Afyonkarahisar province. INTRODUCTIONAnimal-origin food products play an important role regarding the balanced and adequate nutrition of people (Kırdar, 2001). Milk and milk products are among the important foods of animal origin. Cheeses are important in nutrition since their structure comprises proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals (Fox & Mcsweeney, 2004).Approximately, 4000 types of cheese are available in the world, over 110 types of which can be found in our country (Kamber & Terzi, 2007). White cheese assumes the first place between the produced and consumed cheese assortment in our country. According to Turkish Food Codex, white cheese 'with proper processing technique and using rennet enzyme coagulation of milk and the curd which is made from coagulated milk, could be produced in fresh and mature form in the production stage, which shows variety-specific characteristics (Turkish Food Codex, 2015). On the other hand, milk and dairy products are also important sources of foodborne infections and intoxications, in addition to their positive properties, cheese obtained from raw milk may pose a great risk to public health (Mead et al., 1999). Bacterial contamination of raw milk can be caused by different sources such as air, dairy equipment, animal feeds, soil, and feces (Coorevits et al., 2008). In addition, the use of raw milk with low

Milk and dairy products are very important in life, because they contain important nutrients for human health. Recently, some producers have used cow’s milk instead of goat and sheep’s milk for producing goat and sheep cheese and sell these cheeses as sheep and goat cheese. In this study, it was aimed to determine the milk type of white cheese and tulum cheese, which are sold under the names of sheep cheese and goat cheese in the markets and supermarkets of Afyonkarahisar and Antalya. In this study, the Real-Time PCR analysis method was utilised to detect fraud in products. For the analysis, 60 goat cheese samples and 60 sheep cheese samples in total were collected from the aforementioned provinces. As a result of the analysis, among all goat cheese samples which were obtained from both provinces, only 20% were produced from goat milk, 38.33% were produced from goat-cow’s milk mixtures, and 41.67% were produced using cow’s milk only. In the sheep cheese samples from both provinces, only 18.33% were produced from sheep’s milk, 50.00% were produced from sheep’s-cow’s milk mixtures, and 31.67% were produced from cow’s milk only. Consequently, regular inspections and controls are required to detect counterfeit cheeses and we recommend that consumers be made aware of these cheats.