Microbiology of raw milk collected from different vending sources in Shendi area, River Nile State, Sudan

This study was conducted to evaluate the microbiological quality of raw milk collected from different sources in Shendi area, River Nile State, Sudan. A total of 120 raw milk samples were collected from dairy farms (30 samples), milk vending shops (30 samples), pickup trucks (30 samples) and vendors on donkey cart (30 samples). The samples were transported to the microbiology laboratory at 4°C for microbiological examination (total viable bacteria, coliform bacteria and Staphylococcus aureus) in addition to isolation and identification of some bacteria. Results showed that total viable bacteria count (TVBC), total coliform bacteria count (TCC) and Staphylococcus aureus count were high in raw milk from vendors on donkey cart (log 8.09±0.270, log 6.01±0.189 cfu/ml and log 6.12±0.404 cfu/ml, respectively), and low in milk from pickup trucks (log 7.93±0.337 cfu/ml, log 5.89±0.110 cfu/ml and log 5.84±0.131 cfu/ml, respectively). During the study, several bacteria were isolated from raw milk of different sources and these included Streptococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Bacillus spp., Klebsiella spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella paratyphi and Citrobacter diversus. The study concluded that the raw milk of different vending sources was contaminated with microorganisms and it is recommended that this practice should be avoided as much as possible.