Tayebeh Zeinali - Social determinants of Health Research Center, School of Health, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
Mahmoudi Zaveh - Southkhorasan Veterinary Organization, Birjand, Iran

Introduction and Objectives: Dairy product quality assurance begins at the farm and ends in the hands of the consumer. In this regard, raw milk quality is essential. Sheep milk has a higher nutritional value and higher concentrations of proteins, fats, minerals, and vitamins, as compared to the milks of other domestic species. This study aimed to determine the hygienic status of ovine raw milk by evaluation of standard plate count, and detection of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Materials and Methods: A total number of 90 raw ovine milk were obtained from individual sheep after cleaning of the teat in East of Iran. 1 ml of milk was pour plated in Plate Count agar medium and incubated at 37 °C for 48 h. Detection of E. coli and P. aeruginosa were performed by culture of 0.1 ml of milk on the EMB and Cetrimide agar, respectively, the plates were incubated at 37 °C and 42 °C for 48 h, respectively. Results: The mean of SPC was about 2 × 106. 43 out of 90 samples (47.78%) had a SPC of lower than 10000 and 29 out of 90 samples had a SPC of lower than 100000 and higher than 10000. 3 samples were contaminated with E. coli and none of the samples were contained P. aeruginosa. Conclusion: The result of this study showed that ovine milk has a good hygienic status as about half of the samples had a good quality regarding SPC. Moreover, all of the samples were free of P. aeruginosa.

raw milk, Ovine, Standard Plate Count, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa.