Some Physicochemical and Microbiological Properties of Cow Milks Collected from Local Dairy Delicatessens in Erzurum, Turkey

In this study, some physicochemical and microbiological characteristics of 50 raw milk samples sold in local dairy delicatessens in Erzurum province were determined. As a result of the research, the non-fat dry matter (%), fat (%), total dry matter (%), pH, acidity (%), and density values of the milk samples were 7.6-10.5, 1.5-6.8, 10.9-15.1, 6.46-7.33, 0.121-0.252 and 1.026-1.034, respectively. When the data were evaluated according to the related standards, it was determined that 12% of the raw milk was not suitable for fat, 6% for non-fat dry matter and 12% for total acidity. The total aerobic of mesophilic bacteria counts in 98% of the samples were > 100.000 cfu/mL(-1), of the total coliform bacteria counts were in the range of 5.18-5.83 log cfu/mL(-1) in 38%, the total Enterococcus spp. counts were in the range of 5.76-6.68 log cfu/mL(-1), the total number of Staphylococcus/Micrococcus spp. counts were in the range of 3.60-4.80 log cfu/mL(-1) in 60% and the yeast-mold counts 4.38-5.07 log cfu/mL(-1) in 36%. When all the results were taken into consideration, it was recognized that the samples were found to have worse microbiological quality than the chemical properties.