Comparative Study on the Microbial Load of Branded and Raw Milk from Different Areas of Varanasi City

Milk is considered as nature's single most complete food (O'Mahony 1988) and is definitely one of the most valuable and regularly consumed foods. But at the same time, it is highly vulnerable to bacterial contamination and hence is easily perishable (Kim et al 1983). Ten different liquid market milks of Varanasi city from different areas were examined to evaluate their microbiological quality. Five of these were open raw milk bought from local daily markets and the other five were processed packet milk (pasteurized milk) available in shops. All the raw and pasteurized milks were found to be contaminated with bacterial loads exceeding the acceptable limit. The indicator organisms i.e. coliforms and fecal coliforms were present in most of these samples in large numbers. Pathogenic bacterial genera (Salmonella, Shigella and Vibrio) were also identified in most of the sample. The average minimum TPC (Total Plate Count) of raw milk were 1.50 x 10⁸ cfu/ml and maximum were 3.50 x 10⁸ cfu/ml. The average TPC (Total Plate Count) of raw milk were found very high as compared to pasteurized milk. Vibrio were also isolates from raw milk samples except branded milk. All above microbes can have a hazardous effect on human body, unpasteurized milk sold by farmers showed a very high total viable count which indicates serious faults in production hygiene, unsatisfactory sanitation and unsuitable storage temperature.