Bacterial Assessment and Quality Analysis of Raw Milk Sold in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, Nigeria

Analysis of raw milk from four different local farmers within Gwagwalada Area Council (FCT) Abuja, were assessed to determine the bacterial load of the milk. The experiment was assigned to four treatment based on farm location, namely: Adams Farm (T 1 ) (Control); Dagiri herd (T 2 ); Kutunku herd (T 3 ); and Dukpa herd (T 4 ). The treatments had three replicates (R 1 -R 3 ) in a randomized block design (CDR). The result revealed that raw milk sampled contained various bacteria species which include species of Bacillus subtillis , Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp, Lactobacillus spp,Streptococcus spp . The total viable bacteria counts ranged from 1.0 x10 6 -5.6x10 7 cfu/ml, while Bacillus subtillis has the highest frequency of occurrence (26.84%) followed by Escherichia coli (24.39%), Staphylococcus aureus (24.39%), Salmonella spp . (17.06%), Lactobacillus spp . (4.88%) and Streptococcus spp (2.44%). Bacteria count in treatment T 3 had the lowest count followed by T 4 and T 2 and highest for T 1 . Treatment T 3 is therefore better in terms of bacteria load than others (T 1 , T 2 and T 4 ). Key Words : Raw milk, Gwagwalada Area Council, Microbial load.