Coliforms Contamination and Hygienic Status of Milk Chain in Emerging Economies

Emerging economies have often poor hygiene practices in traditional milk and dairy production all over the world. Therefore, pathogenic bacteria in milk pose major public health concerns especially for those communities who still consume raw milk. Escherichia coli and coliforms are often used as indicator microorganisms, so their presence in food implies poor hygiene and sanitary practices. The main purpose of this article is to review information on milk quality and coliform bacteria contamination associated with the production and distribution of raw milk in some of the low and middle income economies around the world. Data reported on coliform counts in milk samples from some countries categorized as low and middle income economies in Africa, South America, Asia, and Europe. Local marketing of raw milk has been increased in the low and middle income countries because of low purchasing power of most native consumers. This population is at risk of illnesses from food-borne pathogens as a result of poor milk handling along the informal milk value chains. The regulatory bodies from these low and middle income countries are usually underfunded; therefore the safety standards of the milk chain cannot be sufficiently provided, endangering public health. On the other hand, there are huge losses of milk due to microbial spoilage in the low and middle income countries. So, it is necessary for the low and middle income countries to invest in infrastructures and establishments such as potable water supply to the dairy actors, increase the electricity connectivity from national grid and off-grid, improve the transport infrastructure, and financial support of the standards regulatory institutions. Paying attention to the mentioned actions can help to improve milk safety and quality and thereby reduce the risk of the food-borne illnesses.