Microbial contamination and hygiene of fresh cow’s milk produced by smallholders in western Zambia

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cg.authorship.typesCGIAR and developing country instituteen_US
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Livestock Research Instituteen_US
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Zambiaen_US
cg.contributor.affiliationMinistry of Fisheries and Livestock, Zambiaen_US
cg.contributor.crpAgriculture for Nutrition and Healthen_US
cg.coverage.countryZambiaen_US
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2ZMen_US
cg.coverage.regionAfricaen_US
cg.coverage.regionSouthern Africaen_US
cg.coverage.regionEastern Africaen_US
cg.creator.identifierTheo Knight-Jones: 0000-0003-4342-6055en_US
cg.creator.identifierDelia Grace: 0000-0002-0195-9489en_US
cg.howPublishedFormally Publisheden_US
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13070737en_US
cg.isijournalISI Journalen_US
cg.issn1660-4601en_US
cg.issue7en_US
cg.journalInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Healthen_US
cg.reviewStatusPeer Reviewen_US
cg.subject.ilriDAIRYINGen_US
cg.subject.ilriFOOD SAFETYen_US
cg.subject.ilriHEALTHen_US
cg.volume13en_US
dc.contributor.authorKnight-Jones, Theodore J.D.en_US
dc.contributor.authorHang'ombe, M.B.en_US
dc.contributor.authorSonge, M.M.en_US
dc.contributor.authorSinkala, Y.en_US
dc.contributor.authorGrace, Deliaen_US
dc.date.accessioned2016-07-27T07:31:52Zen_US
dc.date.available2016-07-27T07:31:52Zen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/76286en_US
dc.titleMicrobial contamination and hygiene of fresh cow’s milk produced by smallholders in western Zambiaen_US
dcterms.abstractA field study was performed to assess safety of smallholder fresh cow’s milk around Mongu, Western Province, Zambia. This involved observation and sampling of milk along the value chain from milking to point-of-sale and storage. Samples were collected from 86 cows, from 9 farmers, selling through two dairy cooperatives, with additional samples from informal markets. Production was very low; around one litre/day/cow and 10 L/day/herd. The milk was typically transported by bicycle in high ambient temperatures without refrigeration until reaching the point-of-sale (journey times of 30–120 min), where it was sold without pasteurisation despite milk-borne zoonoses being endemic (bovine tuberculosis (bTB) and Brucellosis). Although microbiological contamination was initially low, with geometric mean total bacterial count (TBC) of 425 cfu/mL (cfu = colony forming units) upon arrival at point-of-sale, poor hygiene led to high bacterial loads later on (geometric mean TBC > 600,000 cfu/mL after two days refrigeration), with almost all samples culture positive for Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. After milking, milk was kept for 100–223 min at temperatures favouring microbial growth (median 34 °C) and sold without a microbial kill step. In this situation limited variation in observed standards of milk hygiene had no significant effect on milk end-product bacterial counts. Options for refrigerated transport are limited. Pasteurisation at the cooperative should be investigated, as this would largely remove pathogenic microbes present in the milk whether resulting from cattle infection or poor hygiene during milking and transportation. As milk is also purchased directly from producers, on-farm milk heating options should also be assessed. Smallholders may benefit from access to national markets by providing milk to large dairies, which have systems for ensuring safety. However, this requires significant investment and an increased and more consistent supply of milk; and many consumers, unable to afford milk sold through formal sectors, would not benefit.en_US
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Accessen_US
dcterms.audienceScientistsen_US
dcterms.available2016-07-21en_US
dcterms.bibliographicCitationKnight-Jones, T.J.D., Hang’ombe, M.B., Songe, M.M., Sinkala, Y. and Grace, D. 2016. Microbial contamination and hygiene of fresh cow’s milk produced by smallholders in western Zambia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 13(7): 737.en_US
dcterms.issued2016-07-21en_US
dcterms.languageenen_US
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-4.0en_US
dcterms.publisherMDPIen_US
dcterms.subjectdairiesen_US
dcterms.subjecthealthen_US
dcterms.typeJournal Articleen_US

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