Milk hygiene and consumption practices in the Gambia

Indigenous knowledge on the practice of milk container fumigation and its effect on microbial safety of milk among pastoral communities in west Guji zone, southern Ethiopia

Introduction

Milk is a high-risk food and has been implicated in many foodborne illnesses. Thus, the pastoral communities in rural Ethiopia used a traditional practice of milk container fumigation to maintain the quality and safety of milk.

Objective

to assess the indigenous knowledge on milk container fumigation practice and its effect on the microbial safety of milk among pastoral communities in the west Guji zone, southern Ethiopia.

Methods

A cross-sectional study design was conducted in six randomly selected kebeles of the pastoral districts in the west Guji zone, Southern Ethiopia from December to June/2022. The preservative plants and raw milk samples were collected and transported to the laboratory, to analyze the efficacy of plants on the microbial safety throughout milk storage. A variance analysis was used to compare the means of microbiological growth and pH measure among the treatments and control; while thematic analysis was for qualitative data.

Result

Four species of plants, namely: Olea africana, Clerodendrum myricoides (Hochst) vatke, Rhamnus staddo, and Rhus natalensis were identified from the study area; as they were used for fumigating milk storage containers to prevent a contamination of milk. According to respondents, the fumigation of milk containers was practiced by holding the container upside down over the smoke from a burning chip of each plant species. Accordingly, it was demonstrated that the R. staddo has relatively better efficacy in inhibiting microbial growth in milk than O. africana and C. myricoides (Hochst) vatke; while R. natalensis has no significant impact on microbial growth in milk over the storage period.

Conclusion

Pastoralists in the West Guji zone were fumigated the milk storage container by using smoke of O. africana, R. staddo, C. myricoides (Hochst) vatke, and R. natalensis plants. As such, it was identified that R. staddo has relatively better efficacy in inhibiting microbial growth in milk than O. africana and C. myricoides (Hochst) vatke; and it is a better plant to be recommended for the preservation of cow milk.

Growth patterns of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in milk fortified with chitosan and selenium nanoparticles during refrigerated storage

Pseudomonas spp are considered a common milk-associated psychotropic bacteria, leading to milk deterioration during storage; therefore, our study aimed to study the distribution of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in raw milk and its associated products then studying the growth behavior of P. aeruginosa in milk after employing chitosan nanoparticles (CsNPs 50, 25, and 15 mg/100ml) and selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs 0.5, 0.3 and 0.1 mg/100ml) as a trial to control the bacterial growth in milk during five days of cooling storage. Our study relies on the ion gelation method and green synthesis for the conversion of chitosan and selenium to nanosized particles respectively, we subsequently confirmed their shape using SEM and TEM. We employing Pseudomonas selective agar medium for monitoring the bacterial growth along the cooling storage. Our findings reported that high prevalence of Pseudomonas spp count in raw milk and kareish cheese and high incidence percent of P. aeruginosa in ice cream and yogurt respectively. Both synthesized nanoparticles exhibited antibacterial activity in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, CsNPs50 could inhibit the P. aeruginosa survival growth to a mean average of 2.62 ± 1.18 log10cfu/ml in the fifth day of milk cooling storage; also, it was noted that the hexagonal particles SeNPs0.5 could inhibit 2.49 ± 11 log10cfu/ml in comparison to the control P. aeruginosa milk group exhibited growth survival rate 7.24 ± 2.57 log10cfu/ml under the same conditions. In conclusion, we suggest employing chitosan and selenium nanoparticles to improve milk safety and recommend future studies for the fate of nanoparticles in milk.

Integrated assessment of trypanosomosis challenge on cow health and milk based on The Gambia's agropastoralism

To improve understanding of African Animal Trypanosomosis (AAT) and associated host-parasite relationship's challenges on cow and milk, The Gambia was examined given its enzootic status. Based on an integrated assessment framework, semi-structured questionnaires which were pre-tested and then administered in five regions were used. Relationships among the investigated variables were statistically explored with Pearson chi-square test and strength of association quantified with Phi or Cramer's V coefficient. Rough coat, eye and nose discharge, loss of appetite and weight were more consistently observed as signs of AAT in infected lactating cows. Older cows with more than three calving (75.8%) were indicated as the most susceptible and there is no fixed number of times (85.2%) a cow is treated for AAT in a year. The most commonly recognized effect (91.7%) of AAT is milk reduction. Statistically significant positive but moderate relationship exist between milk reduction and late dry season (phi coefficient of 0.221), between milk contamination and early dry season (phi coefficient of 0.226), and also between wateriness and rainy season (phi coefficient of 0.220). Milk discolouration is not statistically related to any season with highest AAT infection rates. The need for integrated assessment of veterinary challenges based on factors such as herd affiliation status, ethnic affiliation, and farmers' objectives before preventive veterinary and production interventions are designed or implemented is implied. Useful information to advance research in this direction are presented.