The chemical and microbiological quality of 156 samples of kishk, Laban Rayeb,
homemade kareish cheese and market Kareish cheese were collected randomly from different
localities in Sohag Governorate, Egypt were assessed. Moisture contents of kishk, Laban Rayeb,
homemade kareish cheese and market Kareish cheese ranged from 4.24 to 5.67, 80.04 to 91.73,
67.20 to 76.01 and 67.13 to 80.26% respectively. The corresponding pH values of these results
ranged from 4.34 to 4.75, 4.55 to 5.03, 4.59 to 5.73 and 5.06 to 5.74 respectively, while their
acidity values ranged from 1.32 to 2.08, 0.65 to 1.29, 0.83 to 1.65 and 0.87 to 1.41% respectively.
Moreover, the total bacterial counts in the different samples ranged from 5.85 to 7.85 log cfu/g
and the highest values were found in market kareish cheese samples. Escherichia coli,
Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella and Shigella and Moulds & Yeasts were detected in all
samples and their counts ranged from 3.21 to 5.52, 3.22 to 5.62, 3.22 to 5.42 and 2.15 to 3.26 (log
cfu/g) respectively. Significant differences (p<0.05) were found in microbiological between
samples from different places. Market kareish cheese samples had higher counts of all microorganisms compared to other products analysed.