Background: Cooking butter is one of the most popular types of fat
consumed in Egyptian houses. It is produced in villages by rural women
that are usually using their traditional knowledge during
manufacturing. Objective: To study the rate of contamination and
hygienic quality of cooking butter Methods: A total of 60 random
samples of cooking butter, were collected from different farmers′
houses in different villages, Beni-Suef Governorate, Egypt. Cooking
butter samples were examined for psychrotrophic bacteria, total
coliforms, faecal coliforms and molds and yeasts counts. Additionally
examination for the presence of pathogenic bacteria like E.coli,
S.aureus and Ps.aeruginosa were also performed. Results: The
microbiological examination revealed that 100, 100, 36.7, 31.7, 31.7
and 23.3 % of the examined samples were contaminated by psychrotrophic
bacteria, molds and yeasts, coliforms, faecal coliforms, E.coli and
S.aureus, respectively. None of the examined cooking butter samples
contained Ps.aeruginosa. The means values of sodium chloride and
titratable acidity were 0.57 ± 0.05 % and 0.20 ± 0.013%,
respectively. Conclusion: The present study showed that cooking butter
is produced under unhygienic condition and without good manufacturing
practice. The Public health significance and suggestive control
measures are discussed