| Abstract | Moulds isolated from visibly moulded Ras cheese collected from different rural and urban localities at Kafr- El-Sheikh, Tanta and Damietta were identified. Out of 360 isolates, fungi and yeasts constituted 90.3% and 9.7%, respectively. The genera of yeasts found were Saccharomyces (5.56%), Trichosporon (2.78%) and Debaryomyces (1.38%). However the fungi genera were Penicillium (41.7%), Aspergillus (37.5%), Cladosporium (4.17%), Fusarium (2.78%), Alternaria (1.38%), Geotrichum (1.38%) and Steamphylium (1.38%). The air microbial pollution in the production areas reflected its hygienic conditions and strongly correlated with the identified moulds on cheese surfaces. |