Evaluation of physicochemical properties and microbiological quality of camelmilk from Egypt

Abstract

So far, there has been little available literature regarding the quality and safety of consumed raw camel milk. Therefore, the present study was delineated to assess the physico-chemical properties and the bacterial contaminants of camel milk being collected from different geographic locations in Egypt. A total of 150 of raw camel milk samples were purchased from three different Egyptian Governorates during the period between September 2015 to August 2016. The collected samples were used for evaluating physicochemical properties, microbiological analysis. In general, a great variation in the chemical composition was found in the present study. Out of the tested milk samples, 133 were found to be contaminated with the total bacterial count, 69 samples were found to be contaminated with total coliform with a mean count of 3.70x104±1.20x104, 51% of the examined samples were found to be contaminated with Enterobacteriaceae with mean count of 2.91x104± 6.20x103cfu/ml, 57 samples were found to be contaminated with staphylococcus spp. while staphylococcus aureus was identified in only 22 samples with an average of 7.30x102±2.60x102. The results herein indicated that camel milk had inferior microbiological quality due to its high contents of total bacterial counts, total coliform, total Enterobacteriaceae and staphylococcus spp. which are not in conformity with the official standards. These pathogenic germs can limit the keeping quality and safety of raw camel milk. There is a pressing need to improve the hygienic condition and providing adequate sanitary measures from the stage of production till milk consumption.