MICROBIAL QUALITY AND HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH CONSUMPTION OF RAW MILK IN THE RURAL AREA OF KARNATAKA

Background: Risks of milk-borne zoonoses posed by the informal market are amplified by poor handling procedures in the market, the lack of quality standards and the fact that most consumers prefer raw milk over pasteurized milk. Objective: To evaluate microbial quality and health risks associated with consumption of raw milk. Methods: A community based cross sectional study was done among 250 households to assess knowledge regarding health risks associated with consumption of raw milk. Microbial quality assessment was undertaken by evaluating 10% of households (25) by collecting 50mL of raw milk, in rural area of Karnataka. Milk quality was assessed using a combination of tests in order to quantify the occurrence of Brucellosis (milk ring test, BMRT), Coliform bacteria (coliform test, CT). Methylene blue reduction test (MBRT) and Specific gravity was used as an indicator of adulteration. Results: None of the participants had knowledge that milk can transmit the diseases. But one third of them could name some reasons for milk contamination as addition of water, unclean handling, utensil or animals. Among randomly selected 25 samples, 13 milk samples were from own house animals and 12 were from vendors. Mean specific gravity was 1.0250 ± 0.007. Nine samples (36%) showed positive results for CT and MBRT; whereas 2 samples (8%) were positive for BMRT. Conclusion: It can be concluded that raw market milk in the study area is of poor bacteriological quality and hazardous for human consumption. This highlights the need to implement good hygiene practices and effective monitoring from production through the delivery chain to the consumer. Further studies are needed for detection of standard plate count for E.coli, toxins that are produced by E. coli, other pathogenic spore forming bacteria (Bacillus spp& Clostridium spp) and other harmful microorganisms.