Evaluation of Chemical and Microbiological Characteristics and Fatty Acid Profiles of Butter Samples Collected from the Black Sea Region of Turkey

The physico-chemical and microbiological characteristics and fatty acid composition of butter samples produced in the Black sea region of Turkey were analyzed. The mean percentages of total solids, non-fat solids and fat were 85.36, 2.71 and 82.64 %, respectively; the pH and titratable acidity, 4.64 and 0.55 %, respectively; the salt and ash contents, 0.51 and 0.81 %, respectively and the peroxide content, 1.19 meq O-2/kg fat. The average colour values of L, a and b for the butter samples were 78.49, -1.3 and 24.74, respectively. The mean counts of aerobic mesophilic bacteria, enterococci, lactic acid bacteria, yeast and mould, coliform and Escherichia coli organisms in the butter samples were 6.01, 5.81, 4.22, 5.14, 2.76 and 2.29 log CFU/g, respectively. Staphylococcus aureus was not detected in any of the samples. The predominant fatty acids in the butter samples were palmitic acid (33.72 %), oleic acid (20.79 %), myristic acid (11.17 %) and stearic acid (10.47 %).