Seasonal Variations of Milk Composition of Sarda and Saanen Dairy Goats

Abstract

Traditionally, in Mediterranean areas the goat population was composed of autochthonous breeds with strong milk production seasonality. In the last decades, high productive alpine breeds were introduced together with more widespread out-of-season milk production practices. This study is a large-scale survey on the seasonal variations of the main compositional characteristics of goat milk obtained from Sarda and Saanen breeds reared on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia (Italy). Analysis of data indicated that milk from the Sarda breed was significantly richer, at p < 0.001, in protein, fat, and lactose, and had a lower urea mean content than Saanen. Throughout the year, fluctuations of mean contents of the milk parameters were similar for the two groups of goats, indicating that, besides genetic intrinsic differences, climate and herbage growth influenced the Sarda as well as the Saanen goats. During the summer, milk from Saanen showed a marked drop in fat and protein contents, with 21% of samples showing a fat-to-protein ratio <1. No significant differences were found for the somatic cell count; however, the Sarda breed showed a higher bacterial count, suggesting improper milk handling and/or storage equipment more frequently encountered in extensive and semi-extensive farm systems.

Chemical, nutritional and sensory characteristics of milk and cheeses obtained from autochthonous, cosmopolitan, and crossbred goats

“…Milk from Tinerfeña goats had the lowest protein and dry matter content, while the Majorera breed had the lowest fat percentage. Season-dependent differences in the chemical and physical composition of milk from the autochthonous Sarda breed and imported Saanen goats bred in Sardinia were presented by Scano et al (2022). The results showed that the milk of the Sarda breed was richer in protein, fat and lactose and had a lower urea content than the milk of Saanen goats.…”

Seasonal Comparison of Microbial Hygiene Indicators in Raw and Pasteurized Milk and Cottage Cheese Collected across Dairy Value Chain in Three Regions of Ethiopia

“…Botton et al (2019) and Simioni et al (2014) from Brazil reported that the APC level was shown to be higher during the winter season compared to other seasons [47,48]. In another study by Scano and Caboni (2022) (Italy), APC in raw milk was higher during winter than in the spring and summer seasons [49]. Margatho et al (2018) from Portugal found that APC count was higher in the wet season-winter (2.65) and autumn (2.62)-compared to summer (2.56) and spring (2.50) [50].…”

Effects of different floor types on milk yield and its components and somatic cell count in Akkeci goats

“…Başka bir çalışmada, Erduran & Dag (2021), Saanen x Kıl keçisi melezlerinde hem mevsimin hem de süt veriminden kaynaklanan değişimin benzer şekilde olduğu görülmüştür. Scano & Caboni (2022) tarafından Saanen ve Sarda keçilerinde 4 yıl süreyle yürütülen çalışmada sütün yağ, protein ve yağ/protein oranlarının yaz aylarında azaldığı, sonbahar aylarında ise arttığı bildirilmiştir. Ayrıca bu çalışmada, sütün temel bileşenlerinden olan laktoz ve proteinin bunlara bağlı olarak da yoğunlukta meydana gelen değişimin sütteki YKM miktarını etkilediği bununla birlikte laktasyon döneminin de etkili olduğu saptanmıştır.…”