The Efficacy of Ozonated Water on the Microbial Quality of Locally Produced Soft Cheese in Baghdad

The present study aimed to investigate the microbiological quality of the locally produced soft cheese made from cows? and sheep's raw milk. A total of 40 bovine and ovine locally produced soft cheese samples (20 each of ovine and bovine) were collected randomly at weekly intervals from different districts in Baghdad province. Soft cheese samples were analyzed for the total aerobic bacterial counts (TBC), coliforms counts (CPC) and yeasts and molds counts (YMPC), Data revealed that there were significant (P?0.0001) differences in the percentages of microorganisms that affect the locally produced soft cheese quality where the highest prevalence levels of contamination were with total aerobic bacteria and Coliforms (100% for each) followed by the yeasts and molds (90%), As well as the current study was planned to investigate the effects of ozonation treatment (0.5 ppm for 10, 15 min and 20 minutes) on the shelf life of bovine and ovine locally produced soft cheese samples. Exposure to the ozonated water at 0.5ppm for 20 min was sufficient to reduce the microbial counts by up to 6 log10 cycles in both bovine and ovine locally produced soft cheeses. There was no significant (P?0.05) differences between the bovine and ovine soft cheese samples after using ozonated water. Locally produced bovine soft cheese samples had high microbial populations load, that exceeded the acceptable limit by the Iraqi standards. A high microbial load of the locally produced bovine and ovine soft cheese samples represent a public health hazard to the consumers and confirm the need for improving the locally produced soft cheese hygienic quality.