en Food Safety and Hygiene Food Safety and Hygiene پژوهشي Original Article <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><strong>Background:</strong> Milk and dairy products have an essential role in human health; however, they are easily contaminated and are likely to transfer pathogenic foodborne bacteria. Since traditional dairy products are very popular and are frequently used by the community, the aim of this study was to assess the contamination rate of raw milk and traditional dairy products by pathogenic bacteria and mold in Mashhad, Iran.<br> <strong>Methods:</strong> A total of 200 samples were collected from five districts of Mashhad, Iran in the summer of 2018. Samples were tested for Coliform, <em>E. coli,</em> <em>S. aureus</em>, <em>Salmonella </em>spp, <em>Listeria monocytogenes</em>, mold, and yeast according to the Iranian national standard methods.<br> <strong>Results:</strong> Results showed that 65% of the samples were positive for at least one pathogenic bacteria. The prevalence of Coliform, <em>Escherichia coli</em>, <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em>, <em>Listeria monocytogenes</em>, <em>Salmonella </em>spp., molds, and yeast in all dairy products were 62.5%, 32.5%, 59.5%, 27.5%, 26%, and 100% respectively.<br> <strong>Conclusion:</strong> The results indicated that considerable numbers of traditional dairy products were contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms in Mashhad, Iran which emphasized the need for stricter hygienic rules and general education about the safety of traditional foods.</span></span></div> <gdiv></gdiv><gdiv></gdiv><gdiv></gdiv><gdiv></gdiv> Bacteria, Dairy products, Food contamination, Iran, Microorganism, 152 158 http://jhehp.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-436-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Hakime Ghadiri Hakim ghadirih951@mums.ac.ir 100319475328460011344 100319475328460011344 No Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Yasser Jamali Behnam 100319475328460011345 100319475328460011345 No Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Mohammad Hashemi mo_hashemi@hotmail.com 100319475328460011346 100319475328460011346 No Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Alireza Miri Disfani 100319475328460011347 100319475328460011347 No Food Safety Committee Working Group on Food Health and Security, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Mohammad Reza Torbati Moghaddam MoghaddamMR921@mums.ac.ir 100319475328460011348 100319475328460011348 No Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Asma Afshari Afsharias@mums.ac.ir 100319475328460011349 100319475328460011349 Yes Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran