MICROBIAL QUALITY OF MILK AVAILABLE IN KATHMANDU VALLEY

With an objective to find microbial quality of the market milk available in Kathmandu valley, this study was conducted in the Microbiology Laboratory, Himalayan College of Agriculture Science and Technology (HICAST). Different milk brands were collected from different outlets in the valley and analyzed for microbial quality. The samples were cultured using the standard microbiological techniques. Almost all the samples showed the presence of bacterial growth including coliform bacteria. The bacterial isolates were of 7 different genera. E. coli was the most frequently isolated organism (92%) followed by coagulase negative Staphylococci (CONS) (24%). Other organisms isolated were Bacillus species, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus species, Salmonella species, Shigella species. The culture results were similar to direct microscopic count results and showed that bacterial contamination in some of the samples was too numerous to be counted. Thus, it was concluded that the market milk available in Kathmandu is contaminated with various types of microorganisms and does not meet the required standard. The dairy industries should work seriously to maintain the standards of their products. * Integrated Bioscientific Research Group (BIOINT), Kupondol, Lalitpur, Nepal. ** Himalayan College of Agriculture Science and Technology (HICAST), Gatthaghar, Bhaktapur, Nepal. Address for correspondence : Charu Arjyal Integrated Bioscientific Research Group (BIOINT), Kupondol, Lalitpur, Nepal. Email: charuarjyal@hotmail.com Key Words: Microbiology, Contamination, Milk, Quality, Coliform