Investigating the Prevalence of Escherichia coli and coliform in Traditional Butters in Qom City

Background and aim: Dairy products are one of the food items whose presence in people's lives fulfills a major part of food needs, which has received a lot of attention today. But the presence of food pathogens has caused dairy products to be exposed to contamination and spoilage caused by microorganisms such as coliforms and Escherichia coli. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of Escherichia coli and coliform in traditional butter of Qom city. Materials and Methods: One hundred samples of butter were sampled from ۱۰ supply centers of this product and transferred to the food hygiene laboratory with an ice flask, then microbial tests related to coliform and Escherichia coli were performed on it. Results: The findings showed that out of ۱۰۰ butter samples taken, ۶ were infected with Escherichia coli, and from ten butter supply centers, ۵۰% were in a poor sanitary condition with high overall contamination, ۲۰% were in a favorable contamination condition, and ۳۰% of Dairy product supply centers were in an average condition in terms of coliform contamination. Conclusion: The results showed that the level of Escherichia coli contamination in butter is high and according to the Iranian standard, the presence of Escherichia coli in any food should not be positive. Therefore, it is necessary to refrain from consuming traditional dairy products by people without a health card and unaware of health issues.