Hygienic Practices and Determination of Microbial Quality and Safety of Raw Camel Milk in Borana Zone, Southern Ethiopia

The study was conducted to evaluate the hygienic practices, handling methods, microbial quality, and safety of raw camel milk at various supply points during the dry and wet seasons in the Borana zone. A total of 370 respondents were interviewed for hygienic camel milk handling along the supply chains (farms, collection points, and open markets), and 192 camel milk samples were collected from surveyed respondents of camel herders, primary collectors, and retailers. Milk sampling, sample collection, handling, transportation, and analysis followed standard procedures. Unhygienic practices, poor handling procedures of camel milk, and lack of standard milk containers were observed across supply chains, which contributed to microbial contaminations. Significant ( p < 0.05) increases in counts of total bacteria, total coliform, yeast and mold, Enterobacteriaceae , and Staphylococcus aureus of raw camel milk samples from farms during the wet season to markets during the dry season with mean log 10  CFU/mL of 5.21–8.35, 4.99–7.24, 3.86–7.29, 4.30–7.12, and 3.31–5.32 were observed, respectively. The overall average count of total bacteria, total coliform, yeast and mold, Enterobacteriaceae , and Staphylococcus aureus was 7.04, 6.09, 5.45, 5.75, and 4.30 log 10  CFU/mL, respectively. These findings indicate that raw camel milk in the Borana zone is highly contaminated, with microbial loads exceeding established raw milk standards. Such high microbial contaminations justify the need for proper heat treatment of raw camel milk before consumption. In addition, community training and awareness creation on improving hygienic milk handling practices and the introduction of dairy material across milk supply chains are crucial to enhancing the quality of camel milk.