TITLE:
Microbiological Quality of Goat Milk in Degahbur District of Jarar Zone, Somali Regional State, Ethiopia
AUTHORS:
Abdi Ahmed, Tadele Amentie, Kawnin Abdimahad
KEYWORDS:
Goat Milk, Microbiological Quality, Hygienic, Production System
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Animal Sciences,
Vol.12 No.3,
July
29,
2022
ABSTRACT: A cross-sectional study was carried out to evaluate microbiological
quality of raw goat milk in Degahbur district of Jarar zone, Somali Regional State, Ethiopia. A total of 40 pooled raw goat milk samples (each
with a volume of 450 mL) were collected from the udders and milk handling
equipment of targeted goat milk producers in the study area. The milk samples were subjected to laboratory analysis to
evaluate total bacterial count (TBC) and total coliform count (TCC) in order to
determine the microbiological quality of the raw goat milk in the study area. The study showed that the mean total bacterial count
(TBC) and total coliform count (TCC) for raw milk samples collected from the
udder were 4.92 ± 0.23 and 2.68 ± 0.36
log10 cfu·mL-1,
respectively. The mean counts for samples collected from milk
equipment were 5.61 ± 0.32 and 3.93 ± 0.21
log10 cfu·mL-1 for TBC and TCC, respectively. The
values for the samples collected from pastoral production system were 5.63 ± 0.13 and 4.02 ± 0.20 log10 cfu·mL-1 for TBC and TCC, respectively. The average means of TBC and
TCC for samples collected from the agro-pastoral production system were 4.9 ± 0.41 and 2.59 ±
0.37 log10 cfu·mL-1, respectively. Significant difference (P 0.05) in mean TBC and TCC
was observed between milk samples collected from pastoral and agro-pastoral
production systems as well as milk samples collected from udders and milk
handling equipment of the producers. It could be concluded that both TBC &
TCC of goat milk samples collected from the udder as well as from the milk
handling equipment of producers exceeded the acceptable limits. This indicated that production
practices performed during milk
production and postharvest handling in the study area were
unhygienic. Therefore, hygienic
and proper milk production procedures should be followed to improve the quality
of goat milk for its intended use in the study area.