Introduction Milk is a porcelain-white fluid with unique flavor and odor containing all important nutritional elements used by female mammals to feed their young [1,2]. In the legislation, raw milk is defined as "secretions from the mammary glands, apart from colostrum, obtained by milking one or more cows, goats, sheep or water buffalo, which has not been heated above 40 °C or undergone any equivalent processing" [3]. According to the Turkish Standards Institution TS.1018 Cow Milk-Raw Standard, milk is defined as "a white or cream colored fluid, secreted by the mammary glands of cows, sheep, goats and water buffalo, with its own unique flavor and consistency, with no other material mixed with it or removed from it" [4]. Milk used as food material has a great importance for the nutrition of all people from young to old. Additionally, milk is the main source of protein, carbohydrate, fat, and mineral matter necessary for healthy growth and is the sole source of nutrition for feeding newborn organisms [5]. One of the most important properties affecting the quality and nutritional value of raw milk is the composition of the milk [6]. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported the mean composition of cow's milk as 11.9%-12.7% total dry matter, 8.60%-9.60% nonfat dry matter, 3.10%-3.30% fat, 4.50%-5.10% lactose, 3.20%-3.40% protein, and 0.70% ash [7]. The composition of milk varies linked to the type of animal it is obtained from. One of the most important factors affecting the yield and composition of milk is animal care and nutrition, and the feed used [8]. Additionally, disease, time and form of milking, age of the animal, age of first breeding, breeding season, initial age of lactation, and environmental factors affect milk composition. Furthermore, season, fatty acid proportions, and pH provide information about the quality and composition of milk [8-10]. Milk, with an important place in nutrition, is an ideal medium for proliferation of microorganisms beneficial for humans, due to the fat, protein, carbohydrate, vitamins, and minerals it contains [1,11]. Raw milk may be contaminated with microorganisms from the animal, cowshed, humans, milking machines, air, and tools and equipment used, and