The Hygienic Quality of Raw milk intended for Human consumption in Algeria: Meta–analysis

Abstract

The main goal of this article was to conduct a meta–analysis, to estimate the hygienic quality of the raw milk intended for human consumption and subsequently relative risk factors that may impact milk quality in Algeria. Weighted random–effects meta–analysis models were employed to analyze the data in this study. A total of 4,685 sampling results from 61 included studies, investigating the bacterial quality of raw milk across 35/48 Provinces in Algeria, from 2009 to 2022. In this meta–analysis, the average level of contamination by Total Aerobic Mesophilic Bacteria (TAMB) was 5.84 log10 CFU·mL-1. 95% CI [5.55–6.13]. The P–value was 0.001. The I2 test indicates the presence of substantial statistical heterogeneity across studies; (I2=86.26%, P<0,001). No significant publication bias was observed using the funnel plots and Egger’s test (P=0.885). In this article TAMB values did not differ significantly among species (P>0.05).The average contamination level TAMB was lower in milk samples collected from individual milking and farm tank milk (4.57 log10 CFU·mL-1 and 5.89 log10 CFU·mL-1), compared to those recorded in milk samples collected from the collector, dairy, and sales (6.59 log10 CFU·mL-1, 6.60 log10 CFU·mL-1, and 6.74 log10 CFU·mL-1, respectively). The contamination level of milk by TAMB was higher during summer and spring (6.80 log10 CFU·mL-1 and 6.70 log10 CFU·mL-1), compared to winter and autumn (4.27 log10 CFU·mL-1 and 5.64 log10 CFU·mL-1).