The quality of raw milk obtained from Friesian (Holstein) cows at Neudamm dairy farm was investigated after the quality issue was raised by some milk consumers at the University of Namibia, Neudamm campus. Some consumers complained about the short shelf-life of the milk as it is sold untreated due to lack of processing facilities at the centre. Others were worried of their health as they usually ferment raw milk for home use. In addition, the farm has no proper records of the quality of its milk for dairy herd management. The Department of Food Science and Technology of the University of Namibia, Neudamm campus took an initiative to identify the cause of the problems and the consumers' health concerns in order to come up with some remedial solutions. Samples for proximate composition and microbiological analyses were collected during the winter and summer seasons and from morning and evenings' milk at Neudamm Dairy Farm for chemical and microbial analyses. The quality of raw milk sold to staff members was evaluated and the data were used to assist the farm with dairy herd management programme and quality assurance. The mean temperatures, chemical, microbiology and acidity tests were determined. The temperatures ranged from 35 to 37 o C. Titratable acidity expressed as lactic acid had a mean of 0.18%, total protein 3.2%, fat 3.63%, total solids (TS) 12.33%; solids-not-fat (SNF) 8.7% and pH varied from 6.0 to 6.7. There were some variations in composition between winter and summer and between morning and evening milk, which are well known and significant at p<0.05. Furthermore, large variations were noted in microbiological composition of raw milk with total aerobic counts ranging from 7.8x10 4-1.3x10 6 cfu/ml, coliforms from 2.4x10 2-2.3x10 3 cfu/ml and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from 1.2x10 3-2.6x10 5 cfu/ml. Yeasts and moulds were less than 100 cfu/ml in all samples analyzed. From the bacteriological and chemical analysis, it is concluded that the university farm needs a processing unit to control the quality of milk, add value and for training purpose.

Dagaa (Rastrineobola argentea), also known as Silver cyprinid, are tiny fish (< 9 g) found mostly in Lake Victoria, Nabugabo and Kyoga, and also in the River Nile. Dagaa are very popular food around the Lake Victoria area and are used for formulating animal feeds due to their nutritional quality. Harvesting of dagaa is a demanding activity and the methods used include scoop net, seine net and catamaran or lift net. The harvesting of dagaa employs a lot of people along the lake carrying out the activities of fishing, preserving and selling. It is therefore considered to be a very important sector for job creation, income generation and food security. However, the traditional method of preserving dagaa, sun-drying dagaa (SDD) is often affected by heavy and prolonged rains in Tanzania. The present study was therefore undertaken to evaluate and compare the processing of spice-smoke dagaa (SSD) and SDD as preservation methods for all-year round supply and marketing. The results showed that SSD could be produced throughout the year and had a significantly (p < 0.05) lower moisture content (SDD in brackets), than SDD 1.81 % (2.4 %). It also had an insignificant increase in fat content 14.9 % (14.1 %) and a significantly higher ash content 17.3 % (15.7 %). Dry matter content was insignificantly increased, 98.2 % (97.6 %). Crude protein was more or less unaffected in the two products, 48.32 % (47.75 %). Sensory evaluation results showed that SSD (SDD in brackets) had significantly (p < 0.05) higher scores in appearance 4.2 (3.4), taste 4.1 (3.15), flavour 4.5 (3.2) and consumers preference or acceptability 4.47 (3.63). Similar results were also shown by the consumers on the open market around the lake. Both products however, had no sign of dirt or filth. The SSD was, therefore, considered to be superior. Despite SSD good qualities, preference and availability, this study revealed that it could not match the sales volume of SDD on the local market due to its unfamiliarity and higher price.

Most meat consumed in Namibia is derived from poultry, cattle, sheep and pigs, despite the fact that majority of commercial and communal farmers in Namibia keep goats. Goat's meat is not available in the formal market or in the supermarkets in Namibia and is rarely used locally for domestic or commercial purposes due to ethical reasons, alleged poor taste, toughness and unpalatability. It is regarded by some to be for the poor sector of the community and for export only. Others consider goats as pets and a few consider goat's meat a delicacy for home use only. Research on meat tenderization has been carried out on beef, mutton and pork worldwide but very little has been done on goat meat. Meat tenderness has influence on softness, taste, palatability as well as preparation methods, carcass grade and meat price. Generally meat tenderness is indicated by age and species of the animal that indicate minimum cross linking of collagen and actomyosin effect in the muscles. In an attempt to increase goat's meat consumption in Namibia, two commercial meat tenderizers (acidic and enzymatic) were used and tested for their ability to tenderize different cuts of goat's meat. Three different cuts of the toughest parts of goat's meat, namely back, hind limbs and ribs were used for tenderization and to determine the effectiveness of the tenderizers. The first sample of three cuts was used for tenderizer one (acidic), the second for tenderizer two (enzymatic) and the third sample was un-tenderized and was used as a control. Trained panelists were asked to chew and evaluate tenderness of the coded braised goat meat samples on a hedonic scale and the mean results were subjected to statistical analysis. The results showed that the un-tenderized meat cuts (control) remained tough and hard compared to the tenderized ones, while there was no significant difference (p<0.05) between the two tenderized meat samples and the effectiveness of tenderizers to tenderize the three different cuts of goat meat. Panelists also evaluated the meat cuts equally. The cuts were tenderized equally and were regarded as soft.

The objectives of this study were to add value to three popular indigenous fruits found in Namibia namely, Marula (Sclerocarya birrea), Monkey orange (Strychnos cocculoides) and Eembe (Berchemia discolour) into processed food products and to train rural communities on value addition for job creation, income generation and food security. Indigenous fruits are receiving increasing interests from researchers and scholars because of their nutrition and abundance in most African countries. The fruits are important sources of food for rural communities especially at times of food shortage, hunger and other disasters. In addition, they provide enormous health benefits such as antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. They are also known to create jobs and generate income for rural communities. Because of their role in combating food insecurity, nutrition and the problems of seasonality, studies on their value addition were carried out in Namibia. Different types of food products were made from the fruits namely; juice, jam, jelly and muffins (cakes). A pilot study was carried out to determine the levels and preference range of ingredients in the mix to formulate recipes of the products prior to processing and training the community members. The results were subjected to paired preference tests and the best ratio was then used. According to consumer preference test, marula juice was on the lower value (2.3) due to its low pH (3.26). As for jam and jelly; quality, taste and colour were acceptable and preferred. The three products made from monkey orange were all preferred but those from eembe were downgraded (2.31-3.20) due to dark colour and lack of flavour. The microbiological quality of the produced products confirmed their safety characteristics. The products made in this study were shown to be viable, of good quality and good sources of income for rural communities. The fruit flavour from marula and monkey orange can be utilized in the dairy and other soft drink industries for making yoghurts, sour milk, ice cream, juices and jams.

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