Materials and methods
2.1. Data on traditional dairies and samples collection
Forty-eight samples of raw milk were collected in Fez, located in the northern center of Morocco from October 2009 to September 2010. Milk samples were col- lected from eight traditional dairies belonging to four administrative sectors of the city (S1, S2, S3 and S4). Each sector has about 100 traditional dairies and each dairy receives about 80–100 L per day from small farms located in four regions around the city (Ras el mae, Sidi Harazem, Boughioul/Sefrou and Al Gharb). In order to collect information on farm characteristics, feeding practices, milk production and the possible presence of mold in livestock feed, visits were organized to some farms. In this study we randomly chose two dairies by sector that were monthly sampled for a whole year. Milk samples (50 mL) were collected and immediately stored at