TABLE 2.

Cell densities compared to the principal microbial group evaluated in winter and summer Apulian raw milks

Microbial group	Log CFU/mL		P valuea
	Winter	Summer
Total mesophilic aerobic microorganisms	5.99 ± 1.60	4.55 ± 0.77	<0.001
Mesophilic lactobacilli	3.02 ± 0.73	2.33 ± 0.64	<0.001
Thermophilic lactobacilli	2.43 ± 0.54	1.61 ± 0.33	<0.001
Mesophilic cocci	3.96 ± 0.59	4.17 ± 0.87	NS
Thermophilic cocci	3.74 ± 0.67	3.73 ± 0.73	NS
Total coliforms	2.45 ± 1.01	2.06 ± 0.98	NS
Escherichia coli	0.54 ± 0.87	0.43 ± 0.74	NS
Enterobacteriaceae	3.15 ± 1.04	2.27 ± 0.89	0.001
Staphylococcus	1.38 ± 1.13	0.80 ± 1.23	NS
Pseudomonas spp.	2.41 ± 2.10	2.14 ± 1.48	NS
Yeasts	1.25 ± 1.16	1.84 ± 0.99	NS

^aNS, not statistically significant (P > 0.05).