An Investigation on the Presence of Salmonella spp. in Raw Water Buffalo Milks Collected from Afyonkarahisar Province

Salmonella spp., important foodborne pathogens and zoonoses, can cause food-borne outbreaks by contaminating food of animal origin such as meat, eggs, cheese, and raw milk. This study aimed to determine the presence and the contamination level of Salmonella spp. in raw buffalo milk samples collected from Afyonkarahisar. For this purpose, 100 milk samples collected from buffalo milk producers were taken aseptically and transferred to the laboratory under cold chain contidions, followingly samples were analyzed according to the method of ISO 6579. Two Salmonella spp. were isolated from the collected buffalo milk samples and they were confirmed by means of the PCR technique. Consequently, it was determined that Salmonella spp. was not widely found in raw buffalo milk collected from Afyonkarahisar. However, considering that Salmonella infections may cause health problems from mild gastroenteritis to severe septicemia, it is recommended that the staff working in dairy companies should be informed about to obey hygiene and sanitation rules and the importance of pasteurization process in elimination of this food pathogens