| Sumario: | Milk is an important source of nutrients in the diet. However, due to its nutritional
nature it also serves as an ideal medium for growth and development of various
microorganisms under suitable conditions. It is a staple food, which is linked to
zoonotic pathogens. This study was carried out in two districts (one region namely
Tanga) of Tanzania to evaluate the awareness of farmers on milk contamination and
to estimate microbial load along the milk value chain. In total 114 respondents were
visited to conducted interviews on awareness as well as strategies for solving the
problem of milk contamination. Subsequently milk samples were aseptically collected
from each of the 114 respondents for laboratory analyses using the standard ISO
procedures for food microbial analyses in particular the horizontal methods. We have
showed that there are poor hygienic practices by the majority of actors along the milk
value chain in Tanga region. Concerning microbial level, our results revealed that
above 90 percent of all samples collected showed total plate count (TPC) above
standard acceptable in the Eastern Africa countries (EAC) of 2.0x105 CFU/ml. It was
also shown that there was more contamination in milk samples obtained from the
household farms compared to those which were collected from the milk suppliers and
in the extensive farming system than in the intensive system (P < 0.05). Moreover,
three Listeria species namely L. innocua, L. ivanovii and L. monocytogenes were
identified. L. monocytogenes were isolated and identified as the common
contaminants in milk along the value chain in the study region.
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