Microbiological quality and related factors of sheep milk produced in farms of NE Greece.

Sheep herds are a significant capital of dairy industry in Greece, but as dairy farming becomes more complex and intense the need to provide assistance to dairy producers on milk quality is critical. In this study, the quality of raw milk produced in sheep farms of NE Greece was surveyed and the role of various factors was explored. In total, 21 dairy ewe's farms from the regions of Xanthi and Evros, in the north-eastern Greece were monitored. Milk samples were sampled after the morning milking every 15 days throughout the dairy period (March-June). For the study, a questionnaire was also filled by personal interview with the owners in order to collect information about herd characteristics, health status, handling practices etc. From each farm, air was also sampled for microbiological analysis. Milk samples were examined for chemical components: fat content, protein, lactose, non-fat dry matter (NFDM) and somatic cells count (SCC). Microbiological examination involved the estimation of Total Bacterial Counts (TBC), coliform count (CC), Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus sp., and preliminary incubation count (PIC). The possible correlation among different bacterial species and their interaction with SCC and chemical components of milk was also considered. It was examined whether farm management practices could influence the hygiene and the quality of milk. Our results show that as an average TBCs were 5.48 log cfu/ml, SCC: 6.05 log cells/ml, CC: 4.49 log cfu/ml, S. aureus: 3.94 log cfu/ml, Streptococcus sp.: 4.95 log cfu/ml and PIC: 5.7 log cfu/ml. The mean fat, protein, lactose and NFDM were 6.17%, 5.28%, 4.73% and 10.95% respectively. The study revealed significant positive correlation between TBC and PIC (0.825), while SCC was marginally positive correlated with protein and NFDM. No statistically significant correlations observed among SCC with any of the bacterial species. Herd size and farm management practices had considerable influence on SCC and bacterial species.