ABSTRACT— Listeria monocytogenes has gained worldwide interest because it cause food borne illnesses. A
descriptive study was performed in the period between October 2004 and October 2005 on one hundred and seventy
four samples of fresh white cheese (114 made by farmers and 60 samples made in factories) collected from street
venders and suppliers of six licensed dairy factories to investigate the incidence of L. monocytogenes, and other
pathogenic bacteria in fresh white cheese in Gaza. Results showed that, L. monocytogenes was not detected at all,
while, Salmonella was found in four samples of "Traditional cheese". which exceed limits of Palestinian Standard
46.5% for Staph. aureus, 79% for Coliform, 39.5% for E. coli, 51.3% for Yeast, and 12.8% for Molds. Differences
between percentages of samples were statistically significant for all tested microorganisms (P<0.05) except for
Salmonella and Mold. The results proved that traditional cheese, in particular, in Gaza were highly contaminated and
usually exceeded the Palestinian Standard.
د. إياد عبد الرحمن محمود الزعيم | Iyad A. M. Alzaeem | 7562