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Page No. : 149-150

ABSTRACT

In the present study, 80 raw milk samples were collected from rural (40 samples) and urban (40 samples) areas for the evaluation of bacteriological quality of milk by methylene blue reduction test (MBRT) and standard plate count (SPC). On the basis of MBRT, 22 rural milk samples were graded as of poor quality, while 18 urban milk samples were of good quality. Higher contamination levels i.e 5-7.5 x106 cfu/ml were observed in 18 rural milk samples, whereas lower number of microbes (1-1.1 x104 cfu/ml) in urban milk samples. Escherichia coli were found in 28 rural milk samples and Enterobacter aerogenes were noticed in 15 rural milk sample. The results of this study indicated that the quality of milk of urban area was better than milk of rural area.

Keywords: Methylene blue reduction test, rural area, standard plate count, urban area.