Evaluating Abergelle goat milk: effects of season and lactation stage on physico-chemical and microbiological quality
2025
Daniel Kahsu | Daniel Woldegebriel | Awet Estifanos | Teshome Begashaw
Abstract The study aimed to investigate the effect of season and lactation stage on physico-chemical and microbiological parameters of milk from Abergelle goat breed. From a total of 40 households (two dairy goats were taken per household), 240 milk samples were collected early in the morning. Samples were taken from lactating goat based on lactation stage. The physico-chemical properties were analyzed using milk analyzer Lactoscan (SA, Milcotronic, Bulgaria). The microbiological analysis was done based on a standard microbiological methodology. The data were analyzed using ANOVA. Pearson correlation coefficient analysis was also done. Both season and lactation stage did not significantly (p > 0.05) affect the physico-chemical and microbiological parameters. The overall mean of fat, protein, solid-not-fat (SNF), lactose, total solids, density and electrical conductivity (EC) were 5.87 ± 0.17%, 3.46 ± 0.07%, 9.18 ± 0.12%, 5.06 ± 0.10%, 15.05 ± 0.21%, 1029.25 ± 0.32 kg/m3 and 5.68 ± 0.10 mS/cm, respectively. Somatic cell count (SCC) in the raw milk was 286.69 ± 26.5 × 103 cells/mL). Of the total milk samples, 10.3% and 6.9% had S. aureus and E. coli, respectively. Both season and lactation stage were not significantly (p > 0.05) correlated with physico-chemical and microbiological parameters. However, total solids showed significant (p < 0.001) and strong positive correlation with fat (r = 0.837) and SNF (r = 0.632). Lactose showed significant (p < 0.05) but weak negative (r = -0.344) correlation with density. More attention must be given to the husbandry and hygienic practices of the goat milk to reduce the microbial load thereby enhance the quality and safety of the milk.
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