Quality Study of Raw Milk Produced in Private Farm by Estimate, Bacterial Contamination and the Prevalence of Antibiotic Residues

Antibiotic residues can lead to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the loss of their ability to be controlled. The study's goal was to determine the level of bacterial contamination and antibiotic residues in raw milk from a few private farms in Iraq's Al-Diwaniyah province. The raw milk of 120 cattle was aseptically obtained from a private farm in the Iraqi province of Al-Diwaniyah. 60 of them were taken at the morning milking, while the rest were taken at the nighttime milking. The samples were collected 10, 20, and 30 days after delivery. At a temperature of 4 °C, all of the milk samples were kept. Samples were brought to the lab in a cooler set at a temperature of no more than 4 °C. Until analysis, they were stored at 4 °C in a refrigerator. The microbiological tests started as soon as possible. After that, all samples were kept at -20 °C in a deep freezer and tested within 48 hours. Between 30 and 45 minutes passed between the time the sample was collected and it was placed in the -20 °C environment. High levels of bacterial contamination and amoxicillin and oxytetracycline residues were found in the results. The investigation came to the conclusion that antibiotics are being misused, which could be harmful to people's health.