A survey on bacterial contamination of fresh traditional cheeses with Salmonella spp. and Staphylococcus aureus in Jahrom, Fars Province

Milk serves as an excellent culture medium for growth of several kinds of microorganisms. Thus, during the process of cheese production, some microbial species such as Salmonella spp. and Staphylococcus aureus may contaminate the products. Since traditional cheese (un-pasteurized) is produced in rural and urban regions in south of Iran under non-hygienic conditions, the aim of this study was to investigate the rate of contamination of fresh traditional cheeses with Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella spp. produced in Jahrom in the south of Iran. A total of two hundred samples of fresh traditional cheese were collected under sterile and refrigerated condition from urban and rural areas of Jahrom. All samples were evaluated to find microbial contamination using microbiological standard methods. A number of 101 samples (50.5%) were contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus. No sample was contaminated with Salmonella spp. Considering the high contamination rate of this kind of cheese in Iran, its production and distribution should be under-control, and people should be trained about the harmfulness of this product. More studies seem to be necessary to clarify other important agents which can contaminate milk and dairy products, and to determine in which step(s) of production the rate of contamination is higher.