Compliance of Milk Quality and Safety Measures Among Milk Producers and Milk Collection Centers in South Region of Punjab Province,Pakistan

The present study was conducted in four districts of Punjab Province to examine the attitude of milk producers and milk collection agents toward compliance of milk quality and safety parameters. In current scenario, the attitude of consumers for safe food in accordance to quality standards is ever increasing. The dairy industry in Pakistan is confronting many challenges to adapt these food safety and quality measures. This study was purposely conducted in the south region of Punjab Province, as this region has rich population of livestock and milk production. To collect essential data, field study was carded out in selected four districts of Punjab Province. Field survey for dairy farmers and milk collection centers was performed in two phases. The analysis of primary data was carried out by calculating the Likert scale mean value, analysis of variance （one-way） and other descriptive statistics tools. The results showed that 76.4% milk producers had no awareness about Punjab food quality laws; as Likert-scale mean value was 1.93. The compliance level for the management practices such as Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Point （HCCAP）, Good Animal Practices （GAP） and Good Veterinary Practices （GVP） etc. was also very poor. Approximately, 32.57% milk collectors （very frequently） applied milk quality testing parameters whereas 50.72% milk collectors merely used sensory quality inspection methods at the time of milk purchase from dairy farmers. For a sustainable supply of good quality raw milk to the dairy industry in Pakistan, it was recommended that the departments for hygiene and food inspection should be vigilant. The prescribed food safety laws relating to milk production and marketing activities should be enforced properly to improve the situation.

Impact of Bacterial and Somatic Cells Content on Quality Fresh Milk in Small-Scale Dairy Farms in Kosovo

The basic goal of this research was to determine the impact of the presence of bacterial (CFU) and somatic cells count content (SCC) in quality of fresh milk in some small cattle farms in Kosovo. The survey was based on existing standards for milk quality in Kosovo placed under administrative guidance MA-no. 20/2006. The study was based on fresh milk analysis of 150 farms performed during the period September-December 2012, which was obtained in 9 different localities (collection points) of the Kosovo. Our study reveals that CFU and SCC in fresh milk were significantly affected by a number of factors, as: sampling period (repetition), locality, breed, and time of sampling (evening or/and morning). According to the results for CFU and SCC, there were big differences between the farms (milk collection points) included in the study (P < 0.0403) and (P < 0.0293). The results show that small size breed like Busha and its crosses tend to be less exposed to SCC/mL in milk (72.840) and (293.592), compared to Black Holstein (613.462), Simmental (521.519) and Brown Swiss (418.44). Milk produced in evening tended to be of better quality (259.854 CFU/mL) compared to the one from morning milking (576.689 CFU/mL). Fresh milk quality analyzed in the third repetition was better for about 33.3% compared with the repletion first. For CFU and SCC, the analyses show that about 74.7% and 64.7% of milk produced belongs to extra quality, while lower quality of milk of category three is 12.0% and 23.3%, respectively. Considering that about 85% of milk produced in Kosovo comes from small-scale dairy farms, the current study sets out that small-scale milk production system cannot be neglected by interest parties in dairy sector and needs permanent following up and improvement.

Effect of Bacterial Content and Somatic Cell Count on Sheep Milk Quality in Kosovo

The main objective of this study was to analyze the effect of bacterial content (CFU) and somatic cell count (SCC) in milk quality in sheep (Ovis aries) farms according to the existing standards for fresh milk quality in Kosovo. A total of 2256 milk test day records from 379 Bardhoka (BAR), Sharri sheep (SHA), Kosovo sheep (KOS) and Balusha (BAL) ewes in eight herds across the country were collected and analyzed through a period April-October 2010. The general linear model and Duncan’s test were used to analyze the effect of different variables on presence of CFU and SCC in fresh milk. The effect of all variables was considered as a fixed. The overall results show that farm (P 0422), respectively, had a significant effect on presence of SCC. For CFU farm (P 0422) and breed (P 1211.17 to 6425.76 CFU/mL and 846.07 to 2043.15 SCC/mL milk, respectively. Although the rate of fresh milk contamination with SCC tends to be relatively low compare with CFU, by all means both variables should not be underestimated bearing in mind that a high rate of them on fresh milk are negatively correlated with farmer’s profit, consumer food safety and overall animal health.

Should the Raw Milk Standard Be Raised?

At a seminar of the dairy industry in June,Wang Dingmian,President of the Guangzhou Dairy Association,attacked China’s current raw milk standard,saying the current standard is more