Monitoring Of Brucella Sp., Coxiella burnetii And Aflatoxin M1 In Goat Milk From Johor

Khairunnisak M., Putri Nur Atifi M.N., Sarol K., Nursyuhada M.R., Saudah A., Ketty G.S.L. and Faridah I.

Forty-nine fresh goat?s milk samples produced by local farmers and sold in market for public consumption as well as raw goat milk in Johor, Malaysia were analysed for total plate count (TPC), E. coli, coliform, Brucella melitensis, Brucella abortus, Coxiella burnetii as well as aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) content, as measures for food safety. The mean counts per ml for TPC were 4.90 x 105, 6.50 x 105, 1.60 x 105 and 1.48 x 106 for pasteurised, unpasteurised and unknown (status of pasteurisation) milk sold in the market as well as the raw milk from milk collection center (MCC), respectively. Among pasteurised samples, only one had TPC count higher than the permitted level whereas the rest were all within the permitted level. The mean counts per ml for E. coli were <1.00 x 102 for pasteurised and unknown milk whereas 1.67 x 101 for unpasteurised and 1.18 x 102 for raw milk. The mean counts per ml for coliform were 9.53 x 103, 9.76 x 103, 1.20 x 102 and 1.16 x 104 for pasteurised, unpasteurised, unknown milk and raw milk, respectively. Overall, no significant differences on the bacterial counts in both pasteurised and unpasteurised milk. All milk samples were negative of B. melitensis and B. abortus, but one unknown sample from the market and two raw samples from MCC were positive of C. burnetii through the ELISA test. The unknown sample from the market showed the presence of C. burnetii when further analysed microscopically. Meanwhile, no sample exceeded the permitted level of AFM1 in milk.