1. Introduction
\nPowder Infant formula (PIF) is an essential nutritional substitute for infants who cannot be breastfed. Ensuring its microbiological safety is crucial because infants are highly vulnerable to foodborne infections. Contaminated infant formula has been associated with serious outbreaks caused by pathogenic bacteria such as Cronobacter sakazakii, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli. Although PIF is produced under strict hygienic conditions, contamination can occur during production, packaging, storage, transportation, or handling in retail shops. Poor environmental hygiene and inadequate storage temperature can promote microbial growth and increase health risks.
\nIn Libya, the consumption of PIF is widespread, but few studies have been conducted to evaluate its microbiological safety. This study aims to assess the bacterial contamination of PIF in local markets across different Libyan cities, identify the pathogenic bacteria present, and determine their potential public health implications.<\/p>\n
\n2. Objectives
\nGeneral Objective:
\nTo evaluate the microbiological quality of PIF in local Libyan markets.
\nSpecific Objectives:
\n1. To determine the total bacterial load and identify the presence of pathogenic bacteria in PIF samples, and compare the microbiological quality of different brands and batches of PIF.
\n2. To assess the influence of storage and handling conditions on bacterial contamination levels.
\n3. To evaluate the antibiotic resistance profiles of isolated bacterial pathogens.
\n4. To provide recommendations for improving the microbiological safety of infant milk in Libya.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"parent":0,"template":"","scientific-departments":[10],"class_list":["post-2369","research-projects","type-research-projects","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","scientific-departments-department-of-microbiology"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbtrc.edu.ly\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-projects\/2369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbtrc.edu.ly\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-projects"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbtrc.edu.ly\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/research-projects"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbtrc.edu.ly\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbtrc.edu.ly\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"scientific-departments","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbtrc.edu.ly\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scientific-departments?post=2369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}