BACKGROUND: Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is the main monohydroxylated derivative of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) formed in liver and excreted into milk. AFM1  creates  certain hygienic risks for human health. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine AFM1 level in raw milk samples in Yazd province. METHODS: This investigation was a descriptive-cross sectional study. Eighty raw milk samples were collected from four cities (Yazd, Taft, Mehriz and Sadogh) in Yazd province in winter and spring seasons. The concentration of AFM1 was determined by ELISA method. The analysis of the results was performed using ANOVA and Chi-square tests. RESULTS: All samples (100%) were contaminated with AFM1, with the concentrations ranging from 3.18 to 92.24 ng/l with a mean concentration of 22.07 ng/l. AFM1 level in 13.7% of raw milk samples was higher than the maximum tolerance limit of 50 ng/l accepted by the European Union (EU). The contamination level of AFM1 in winter samples (28.21 ng/l) was higher than spring samples (15.92 ng/l). Also, the highest and lowest contamination levels were observed in milk samples collected from Sadogh (mean 42.21 ng/l) and Yazd (12.79 ng/l) cities, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Results demonstrated AFM1 was detected with a mean concentration of 22.07 ng/l in milk samples of Yazd province. Moreover, 13.7% of samples contained AFM1 at hazardous levels for human health.

Milk has been suggested to be a possible source of oestrogenically active compounds. In order to assess the health risk for milk consumers and ensure the safety of this staple part of the human diet, it is important to study the effect of xenooestrogen mixtures present in milk. This investigation used the available in vivo model to learn to what extent such compounds may be endocrine disruptors.

Brazil is one of the largest milk producers in the world and most establishments are small producers of family farming. Milk is a perishable product and due to its nutritional characteristics provides a favorable environment for the growth of bacteria. The objective of this research was to evaluate the consumption habits of milk in family farms, identifying the consumption forms, evaluating the risks and the perception of risk by the producers, besides evaluating the sanitary management adopted in the properties with respect to the diseases transmitted by the milk and milk products. One hundred eleven producers from the city of Realeza-PR were interviewed. Almost half (48.64%, 54/111) had a small production with up to 10 lactating animals. Most of the producers had animals with a low productivity, and the average milk production per animal was less than 10 liters. The milk produced was consumed internally by 93.67% (104/111) of those interviewed, and 7.2% (8/111) claim to ingest raw milk without any previous heat treatment. Some producers(18%, 20/111) still made dairy products, like cheese and dulce de leche. Although 82.87% (92/111) reported having knowledge about the transmission of diseases through milk, only 49.54% (55/111) named the diseases. Not all producers conducted tests in the herd for disease control. The present study also found that only 4 people interviewed (3.6%, 4/111) associated the consumption of raw milk with some illness and reported having some symptoms, such as vomiting, nausea, skin allergy, colic and gas. Thus, it is necessary to inform and guide producers about the risks associated with raw milk consumption, so that not only the health of the producer is assured, but also the family and the population that may acquire this product informally.

Q fever in dairy cattle has been investigated in Latvia since 2012. In 2015, 10.7% of farms tested positive for the DNA of C. burnetii, its aetiological agent, in bulk tank milk. The presence of C. burnetii DNA and infectious bacteria in dairy products has been assessed in several countries, and because Latvian milk may contain them, parallel assessment in this country is recommended. Accordingly, the present study tested shop and farm retail dairy products from Latvia and included foreign products for comparison. Investigation was carried out of 187 samples of a diverse range of dairy products from 41 Latvian milk producers. Twenty-six comparable samples pooled from Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain were also included. The all-countries total number of fermented milk products was 160. Special attention was paid to products that could be more attractive to children because of their added chocolate, cacao, berry and fruit content. DNA was extracted and amplification of C. burnetii IS1111 was performed using a commercial PCR kit. Overall positivity was 60.56%. Domestic products were positive more often (60.96%) than foreign ones (57.69%). Only 26.67% of unpasteurised Latvian cow’s milk samples were positive whereas 76.47% of pasteurised equivalents and 63.13% of fermented milk products were. Sweetened and fruit-containing samples were 71.43% positive. The shedding of C. burnetii via milk should be monitored and only milk from healthy animals allowed for sale for direct human consumption without pasteurisation. Raw milk quality and the effectiveness of industrial heat treatment and pasteurisation methods in Latvia and other countries should be carefully assessed to ensure adequate consumer health protection.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of noncoding small RNAs, have been recognised as potential biomarkers of mammary gland conditions, including bovine mastitis diagnosis. The aim of this study was to quantify selected miRNAs in the milk of mastitic cows.

Multi-class and multi-residue analyses are very complex procedures because of the physico-chemical properties of veterinary drug residues and other contaminants. The purpose of the study was to develop an analytical method for the sensitive determination of 69 analytes in bovine milk by liquid chromatography electrospray ionisation–tandem mass spectrometry. Antimicrobial, anabolic hormone, lactone, β-agonist, mycotoxin and pesticide residues were analysed in 120 raw milk samples from different dairy farms in North Macedonia. Stable isotopically labelled internal standards were used to facilitate effective quantification of the analytes. The linear regression coefficients were higher than 0.99, the limits of detection ranged from 0.0036 to 47.94 μg/L, and the limits of quantification ranged from 0.053 to 59.43 μg/L. The decision limit values ranged from 0.062 to 211.32 μg/L and the detection capability from 0.080 to 233.71 μg/L. Average recoveries of the analytes spiked in raw milk were in the range of 70.83% to 109%, intra-day coefficient of variation (CV) values from 2.41% to 22.29%, and inter-day CV values from 3.48% to 23.91%. The method was successfully applied in the testing of bovine milk samples. In five samples residues were detected. They were sulfadimethoxine (in two samples), enrofloxacin, tetracycline and oxytetracycline and were at concentrations below the EU maximum residue limit. The method is useful for routine testing for this group of chemical hazards in bovine milk.

Milk has been suggested to be a possible source of oestrogenically active compounds. In order to assess the health risk for milk consumers and ensure the safety of this staple part of the human diet, it is important to study the effect of xenooestrogen mixtures present in milk. This investigation used the available in vivo model to learn to what extent such compounds may be endocrine disruptors. The recommended immature golden hamster uterotrophic bioassay was chosen. A total of 132 animals were divided into nine groups of experimental animals and positive and negative control groups, each of 12 animals. The experimental females received ad libitum either one of five samples of raw cow’s milk from individual animals or one of four samples of pasteurised or ultra-high temperature treated cow’s milk as retail products. After 7 days, the animals were sacrificed and necropsied. Uterine weight increases were measured as the endpoint of oestrogenic activity in milk. The milk samples from individual cows and the retail milk samples did not show oestrogenic activity. However, in three groups, decreased uterine weights were observed. Considering that milk supplies are beneficial to health, contamination in this food should be avoided. There is a need for further animal experiments and epidemiological studies are warranted to evaluate any causative role of milk in human endocrinological disorders.

A mini-study of 20 raw milk samples was conducted to examine the spectrum of fungal metabolites in sheep milk from the first spring milking. Samples were collected from randomly selected ewes in two animal flocks from the Bieszczady Mountains and analysed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Out of ~700 bacterial, fungal, and plant metabolites tested for, only one mycotoxin – Enniatin B – was detected in sheep milk samples (18/20; 0.0055–0.0121 μg/kg; 0.0078 μg/kg average). The results indicated that there was no high-level exposure to fungal metabolites via consumption of raw sheep milk during the sample collection period.

A frequent source of milk contamination is Bacillus cereus. The microorganism can contaminate raw milk at the time of milking since it is ubiquitous in the environment. In the current study, one hundred raw milk samples were obtained from farmers, supermarkets, street vendors and dairy shops in Egypt, collected samples were examined biochemically and by vietk 2 compact system to isolate Bacillus cereus. Prevalence values of B. cereus were 0, 20,8 and 12% respectively.  The Mean ± SE of the pH values for milk samples were 6.54 ± 0.04, 6.48 ± 0.06, 6.44 ± 0.05 and 6.53 ± 0.06 respectively, on the other hand sorch’s test for milk samples was positive in a percentage of 12, 8, 40 and, 16, respectively. Molecular characterization of hlbA and ces showed positive reaction for 30 and 20% of samples. Growth, proteolytic and lipolytic activities of Bacillus cereus was 100, 100, 20 and 40, 40, 20 at 30◦C/48 h and 7°C/10 days, respectively. Outcomes of the in vitro testing for susceptibility indicated that the highest resistance to antibiotics was against macrolides and mono, B-lactamase, whereas moderate resistance was exhibited to gentamicin. The current study's findings exhibited evidence of B. cereus isolation from raw milk has a high potential for producing food poisoning, so it is necessary to employ the techniques to lessen bacterial contamination while processing dairy products.

The high nutritional value of milk and dairy products renders them susceptible for bacterial contamination easily under the absence of hygienic practices and regulations. Therefore, a total of 100 random samples of milk and milk products (25 of each: raw milk, kareish cheese, processed cheese and ice cream) were collected from both Sharkia and Dakahlia Provinces, Egypt, for microbiological examinations. Staphylococcus. aureus and Pseudomonas. aeroginosa counts were performed using HiCrome™ Staph Selective Agar (Himedia, Mumbai) and Pseudomonas Agar Base (Himedia, Mumbai) with glycerol and CetriNix Supplement (Himedia, Mumbai) as a selective media. The obtained results revealed that the mean S. aureus counts in the examined raw milk, kariesh cheese, processed cheese and ice cream were 3.08x105±1.73x105, 3.20x105±2.80x105, 5.78x104±4.24x104 and 6.60x105±2.93x105 CFU/g, respectively; the mean Pseudomonas. aeruginosa counts in the examined raw milk, kariesh cheese, processed cheese and ice cream were 2.02x106±1.24x106, 1.85x104±8.80x104, 2.26x105±1.43x105 and 7.68x105±4.22x105 CFU/g, respectively According to the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality (EOS) all samples examined in this study exceeded the permissible limits of S. aureus counts reported in Egyptian Standards. The examined samples were not accepted for S. aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa count. In conclusion, the examined products revealed unsatisfactory hygienic measures. Therefore, strict hygienic practices should be adopted during processing of dairy products to improve the bacteriological quality of such products. Moringa olifera 0.05% aqueous extract showed antibacterial effect against S. aureus by 56.7% and 83.3% reduction percentage in examined yogurt at day one and day three, respectively, but no effect against Pseudomonas. aeruginosa.