Compliance by SMEs to existing Tanzania standards with respect <i>Escherichia coli</i> and <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> in Cultured Milk: a Case of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Abstract

Small and medium enterprises are important for economic growth not only in Tanzania but all over the world. Most of them are informal, without official registration. However, they provide tremendous contribution to food security, nutrition, income generation and poverty reduction in the country. Therefore, upgrading and modernization of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to ensure food security, safety and quality of food has becomes one of the priorities of Tanzania development visions of 2025, which is the blueprint of structural economic transformation of the country. To help achieve this, the present study was conducted to assess the safety of cultured milk. A total of 33 cultured milk samples were collected from 11 SMEs which were analyzed in triplicate to make 99. Two microorganisms, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were analysed in cultured milk. Results were compared against the existing Tanzania standards. The isolates had an overall mean of 2.02 × 102 ± 1.73 × 102CFU/g, 1.91×102 ± 1.85 ×102CFU/g respectively for E. coli and S. aureusc count. The results obtained were higher than the limits set by the Tanzanian Standard (TZS1625:2013). It may thus be concluded that sampled cultured milk was of poor microbial quality and hence not safe for consumption. Poor hygienic practices during milk handling pose a high risk to cultured milk and render it unsafe for human consumption.