Foodborne Pathogen Assessment in Raw Milk Cheeses

Table 2

Enterobacteriaceae and E. coli counts of cheese samples according to cheese categories.

	Number of samples	Number and (%) of samples at different levels of Enterobacteriaceae			Number and (%) of samples at different levels of E.coli (log CFU/g)
Cheese made from ovine milk		<2	>2 < 3	>3 < 4	<2	>2 < 3
Soft cheese	102	8 (7.8)	3 (2.9)	2 (1.9)	6 (5.8)	4 (3.9)
Hard cheese	80	1 (1.3)	1 (1.3)	1 (1.3)	2 (2.5)	2 (2.5)
Cheese made from bovine milk
Hard cheese	18	2 (11.1)	2 (11.1)	0 (0.0)	1 (5.5)	0 (0.0)
Pasta filata	9	0 (0.0)	0 (0.0)	0 (0.0)	0 (0.0)	0 (0.0)
Cheese made from mixed milk
Hard cheese	36	2 (5.6)	3 (8.3)	0 (0.0)	2 (5.6)	3 (8.3)