Consumers’ Knowledge and Nutrient Contents of Cuku Produced from Camel, Cow and Goat Milk

Abstract

The study investigated consumers’ knowledge and evaluated the nutrient contents of cuku (Fulani cheese). Samples of cuku produced  from camel, cow and goat milk were purchased from producers/sellers and used for the study. A structured questionnaire was used to  investigate consumers’ knowledge and standard methods were used for nutrient contents analysis. The results showed that majority of  the respondents were male (90.00%) and single (69.34%). Also, the majority of the respondents (80.00%) consumed cuku as a snack one  to three times daily. They consumed cuku because of its nutrient contents (69.34%) and pleasant taste (30.66%). There were significant  (p<0.05) differences in proximate composition and mineral contents of cuku. The proximate composition ranged from 2.56- 3.44%,  5.53-6.49%, 26.37-29.09%, 17.56-23.04%, 1.33-1.71% and 37.97-45.02% for moisture, ash, crude protein, crude fat, crude fibre and  carbohydrate contents, respectively, while the mineral contents ranged from 538.32-674.12 mg/100g, 755.29-763.04 mg/100g,  166.49-175.58 mg/100g, 2.38-3.96 mg/100g, 130.68-145.86 mg/100g and 14.51- 21.12 mg/100g for sodium, potassium, calcium, iron,  phosphorus and magnesium, respectively. The vitamin contents ranged from 52.26-53.15 µg/100g, 2.51-2.65 mg/100g, 0.53-1.58 mg/100g  and 0.70-0.73 mg/100g for vitamin A, riboflavin, vitamin C and thiamine, respectively. The study showed that cuku contained  high protein, vitamin A and mineral contents, which makes it a rich and cheap source of nutrients.