MICROBIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF RAW CAMEL MILK, DRY CAMEL MILK AND SHUBAT FROM A FARM IN ALMATY REGION

Abstract

The most important role in ensuring the quality and safety of finished dairy products is determined primarily by the quality of the feedstock – milk. A huge risk to human health is posed by xenobiotics of biological origin in raw milk - bacterial toxins that cause not only acute food intoxication, but also chronic diseases, as well as particularly dangerous mycotoxins (metabolites of mold fungi), which not only have a toxic effect in a very small dose, but also have carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic activity. Microbiological control is designed to verify that raw materials and finished products meet epidemiological safety requirements and that the source of bacterial contamination is detected in good time, thus minimizing the risks associated with it. In raw camel milk, dried camel milk and shubat the following groups of microorganisms are determined in accordance with hygienic standards: a) indicator (quantity of mesophilic aerobic and facultative anaerobic microorganisms – QMAFAnM and bacteria of E. coli group); b) opportunistic (E. coli); c) pathogens, including Salmonella. The content of lactic acid bacteria (lactobacilli) was additionally determined in the shubat as an indicator of the biological value of the product. The tests were carried out using standard methods at the Research laboratory for assessing the quality and safety of food products at the Almaty Technological University. It was defined that QMAFAnM in dried camel milk is 2,3∙10⁵ CFU/cm3 (g), in raw camel milk is 2,4∙10⁵ CFU/cm3 (g), which does not exceed the normative data. Pathogenic microorganisms, including Salmonella, Enterococcus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, were not detected in 25 g (cm³) of all examined products. The content of lactic acid microorganisms in shubat reaches 4.4∙10⁷ CFU/g (cm³), which is more than 4 times higher than the normative data. The results indicate compliance of the above indicators with the requirements of regulatory documents.