Assessment of Raw Cow Milk Quality in Smallholder Dairy Farms in Pemba Island Zanzibar, Tanzania

Abstract

Milk quality depends on the physicochemical characteristics, hygienic standards, and nutritional quality; however, animal husbandry practices, unhygienic harvesting and processing, may affect its quality. A cross-sectional study was conducted between August 2010 and July 2011 to assess the hygiene of cow milk production environment, raw cow milk physicochemical characteristics, and microbial quality and estimate the prevalence of antimicrobial residues using standard methods in Pemba Island. A total of 98 raw cow milk samples from selected smallholder dairy farms were analyzed, and the judgement on the quality used the East African Standards. Generally, the milk production chain was done under the unhygienic condition, and dirty plastic containers were used for collection and storage of milk under room temperature. Some milk samples had abnormal colour (2.1%), abnormal smell (7.1%), and pH below normal (35.7%), clotted on alcohol test (9.2%), and had the specific gravity below normal (13.3%). All the milk samples had mineral contents within the recommended range. Milk samples with butterfat below normal were 29.6%, while 14.3% had total solids below recommended values. The mean total viable count (TVC) of milk container surfaces was 9.7 ± 10.5 log CFU/100 cm2, while total coliform count (TCC) was 7.8 ± 8.5 log CFU/100 cm2. Up to 55.1% of milk had TVC beyond the recommended levels. The milk mean TVC was 11.02 ± 11.6 log CFU/ml and TCC was 6.7 ± 7.3 log CFU/ml. Up to 26.5% of milk samples had the TCC beyond levels. Results on physicochemical characteristics and nutritional analysis show that the raw cow milk in Pemba Island is of inferior quality. Microbiological results of this study imply heavy contaminations of milk. Antimicrobial residues were detected in 83% of the samples and most of them were from Wete District. Unhygienic milk production chain accelerates microbial contaminations, and antimicrobial residues in milk are a big problem that needs urgent attention from the responsible authority.

Effect of preservation method on the microbiological characteristics of white cheese (Gibna bayda) during the storage period

“…Microbiological quality of raw milk: TVBC, TCC, S. aureus, yeasts and moulds and lactic acid bacteria count of raw milk was log 7.64±0.89, 6.03±1.01, 6.15±0.04, 3.23±0.02 and 6.21±0.75 cfu/ml, respectively, while the pH of raw milk was 6.7±0.3 (Table 1). TVBC and TCC in this study are lower than those of Gwandu et al 17 who reported that the mean total viable and total coliform counts were 11.02±11.6 log cfu/ml and 6.7±7.3 log cfu/ml, respectively and that up to 26.5% of milk samples had the total coliform count beyond levels. Microbiological quality of cheese: Table 2 presents the microbiological quality of cheese.…”

Antimicrobial Residues in Food from Animal Origin—A Review of the Literature Focusing on Products Collected in Stores and Markets Worldwide

“…For a clearer evaluation, all studies with salmon, other fish from aquaculture, and shrimp were combined as seafood in the evaluation, as can be seen in Figure 2 . Cattle [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ], Eggs [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ], Milk [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 ], Pork [ 58 , 59 , 60 ], Poultry [ 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 ,…”

Pastoral community practices, microbial quality and associated health risks of raw milk in the milk value chain of Nakasongola District, Uganda

“…Also households that regularly consume milk in rural Uganda have recorded better health outcomes than non-milk consumers (Dobson and Combs 2005). On the other hand, the high nutritive value and water content of milk support the growth of bacterial pathogens (Ondieki et al 2017) such as Salmonella, Staphylococcus or Escherichia coli that can cause milk-borne illnesses (Gwandu et al 2018;Kateete et al 2013). These may originate from the infected cows, the milk handlers, the equipment and/or the unhygienic environment (Kateete et al 2013, Swai andSchoonman 2011;Kaneene et al 2016).…”

“…Often, the prolonged use of antibiotics in udder infections exerts selection pressure which promotes resistant bacteria phenotypes (Oliver et al 2011). These are shed in milk and can lead to milk-borne infections with severe consequences among the consumers (Kuipers et al 2016;Gwandu et al 2018).…”