MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY OF RAW-MILK IN THE SOUTH BOHEMIAN REGION

In a purchasing district of two dairies in the South Bohemian Region, total counts of mesophilic aerobic and facultatively anaerobic microorganisms were investigated in samples of raw milk from different farms and in bulk samples of milk supplied to dairies; this investigation followed a modification of the standard of evaluation of microbiological quality of raw milk. It was found out that in the course of several months the total counts of microorganisms in bulk samples were considerably reduced. Most farms began to produce grade A milk, which can contain maximally 500 000 microorganisms per 1 ml milk; an overall average was about 400 000 microorganisms per 1 mi. The samples of bulk milk of tanks still had high counts of microorganisms (about 800 000 per 1 ml); this suggests that the microbiological quality of raw milk continues to be a topical problem, and its solution must be a complex one.