Milk Quality and its Improvement Options in Selected Milk Sheds of Ethiopia

Abstract

The study was conducted in Selale- Addis, Adama-Asella, and Ambo-Woliso milk sheds with the objectives to evaluate the quality of raw milk, identify factors affecting milk quality and suggest quality improvement options. A value chain approach was employed where milk samples were collected from 54 smallholder dairy producers, 9 milk collectors, 27 milk retailers and 27 milk consumers from the selected milk sheds. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were held with farmers and experts of the respective zones and woredas of the study areas. Milk collectors, processors and consumers were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires separately prepared for each actor. The collected quantitative data were analyzed using SAS software, version 9.4. The results revealed that, the physical qualities (specific gravity, moisture content and freezing point) and chemical qualities (total solid, protein, fat, lactose and solid non-fat contents) of raw cow milk were within the normal range of raw milk set by the Ethiopian Standard Institute. The overall mean pH value of raw milk in the milk sheds was lower than the pH value set by the Ethiopian Standard Institute for raw cow milk which is also confirmed by higher titratable acidity of milk obtained in the present study. The lower pH and higher titratable acidity values may reveal that the milk might have stayed on farm for longer time before it came to collection site where the milk samples were taken. Significantly higher total bacterial count (7.23log10cfu/ml) was recorded for milk samples collected from retailers while the lowest TBC (6.46^b±0.14) was for milk samples collected from producers. The higher TBC could be related to environmental contaminants and unsanitary milk storage and transportation equipment along the milk value chain. Significantly higher CC were observed in milk samples collected from retailers (5.43±0.10 log10 cfu/ml) and consumers (5.47±0.10 log10 cfu/ml) indicating that CC increases along the value chains which could be related to poor environmental hygiene, poor hygienic milking practices and handling. In general the microbial quality of milk in the study milk sheds was found to be substandard.  Unhygienic milking practices used by the farmers, shortage of clean water, lack of quality feed and feeding practices, health of animal, adulteration of milk, inappropriate milk storage and transportation systems, absence of standard milk equipment and basic requirements for milk collection, market problems, unhealthy competition among legal milk collectors/traders and illegal traders, and lack of milk regulatory system were the major factors affecting the quality of milk in the study milk sheds. Capacitating stakeholders involving in milk production, collection and marketing through skill training, improving the supply of clean water, controlling feed quality and feeding practices, improving animal health services, creating market linkages and enforcing milk regulatory systems are suggested to improve  the quality of milk in the study milk sheds.