investigating the microbial quality of the fresh fruit juices in ilam shopping centres in 1389

background: lack of sanitation during storage, transmission, processing and consuming the food can cause early corruption and create economical losses and cause infectious diseases in consumers. in this study, available fruit juices in ilam shopping centres were investigated in 1389 to identify the presence of escherichia coli and the coliform number, aerobic bacteria, staphylococcus aurous, mould and yeast in juices in order to provide a better field to control the contaminations. methods: this research was a descriptive-sectional study. samples were collected from 30 juice retailers in ilam city in the first semester of 1389. each sample was 250ml which was transferred to microbiological lab, in sterilized condition, at 4 o c and in less than 6 hours and was examined straight away. then the data were analyzed using excel software. findings: the study findings indicated that about 60% of samples were contaminated by escherichia coli, 73.33% by coliforms, 46.66% by aerobic bacteria, 73.33% by staphylococcus aurous and 63.33% by yeast. none of the samples had mould. conclusion: according to the food administration, the ready-in-use juices in shops must not have escherichia coli and staphylococcus, and the permissive number of coliform, aerobic bacteria, mold and yeast is 10 2 , 5 × 10 5 , 10 3 and 10 4 per ml juice, respectively. the results of the study indicated that the rate contamination in the studied juices were high. thus exquisite monitoring and control on foodstuff are highly emphasized.