Assessment of Bacterial Loads of Camel Milk from Farms and Sale Points in Khartoum State, Sudan

Abstract

This study was carried out to evaluate raw camel milk from two sources that include farms and sale points in Khartoum State. Fifty milk samples were collected during summer and winter seasons from different farms and sale points. The milk samples were examined for total bacterial counts (TBC), coliform count and psychrotrophic count. The TBC, coliform and psychrotrophic count of camel milk samples were higher during summer season (log10 4.6�0.08, log10 3.4�0.09 and log10 0.8�0.1, respectively). Moreover, the counts of TB and coliform were higher in the milk samples collected from the dairy farms (log10 4.33�0.0 and log10, 3.1�0.09, respectively). However psychrotrophic bacteria was higher in the milk samples collected from the sale points (log10 0.9�0.16). The milk samples collected from different sources showed significant (P?0.001) differences in TBC, coliform and psychrotrophic counts. In addition, during the different seasons the bacterial loads revealed highly significant (P?0.001) differences. Generally the quality of milk obtained from farms and collection points was good, although the bacterial load was higher during summer. Hence, the study suggested that more efforts are needed to improve milk hygiene and quality by regular monitoring, raising awareness among camel�s owners and initiation of collection centers equipped with cooling facilities