Detection of Escherichia coli in unpasteurized raw Milk

The present study was undertaken to estimate the incidence of opportunistic pathogen, Escherichia coli (E. coli), in raw cow's milk from different localities of Sfax governorate in Tunisia (El Amra, Esaadi, Nakta and Menzel cheker). Forty raw milk samples were randomly collected and inoculated on the relevant bacteriological media. Confirmation was performed using a series of biochemical tests. The results revealed that 32.5% of the samples were E. coli positive. The highest numbers of milk samples contaminated with E. coli were obtained from El Amra and Esaadi. The highest mean value of coliform was found in milk from El Amra farms with 3.34 ± 0.31 log 10 cfu/ml, while the lowest mean count of 2.61 ± 0.40 log10 cfu/ml was detected in milk obtained from Nakta farms.