TITLE:
Survey on Raw Milk Quality in Kosovo
AUTHORS:
Hysen Bytyqi, Stefan Bigler, Skender Muji, Ardita Jahja, Urs Zaugg
KEYWORDS:
Raw Milk Quality, Microorganisms, Somatic Cell Count, Freezing Point and Antibiotics
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.2 No.5,
July
6,
2011
ABSTRACT: In Kosovo, a new regulation on quality standards and grade of fresh milk is valid since January 1, 2007. The regulation was based on the respective EU-regulation and has an ambitious time frame with a transition period of only three years. In order to estimate the impact of this new regulation, a survey on the quality of raw milk delivered to the Kosovar dairies was carried out from January to May 2007. The aim was to get a reliable picture of the current raw milk quality in the dairy channel in Kosovo, to discuss the findings with the relevant actors of the dairy sector and the government, and to draw the necessary conclusions. In total 364 milk samples, from the leading 14 dairies constitute the basis for the statistical analyses of this study. The four most important parameters of raw milk quality: TBC, SCC, FP and AB were analyzed. Regarding TBC, the results show that around 20% of samples meet the Kosovo standard 2008 (