Microbiological assessment of raw goat milk collected from Sardinian herds

With Regulation EC 853/04, the European Parliament and the Council laid down general rules for food business operators regarding the hygiene of foodstuffs. In particular, the regulation established ≤1.500.000 cfu/mL as the maximum-tolerated value for total bacterial count in raw goat milk. Moreover, in order to enhance the hygiene of dairy farms, the Sardinia Region has funded the F measure programme which provides rewards for farmers showing improvements in herd management and animal welfare practices. This work aimed to evaluate the microbiological quality of raw goat milk samples collected during the F measure enforcement. A total of 536 raw goat samples, collected from dairy farms in the Sardinian province of Nuoro and Ogliastra, were analised for total bacterial count at 30°C. Results showed that total bacterial count was ≤1.500.000 ufc/mL in 456 (85.1%) raw milk goat samples, most of them (80.2%) with a total bacterial contamination <500.000 cfu/mL. This study confirms the hygienic good quality of raw goat milk collected from Sardinian dairy farms.