Milk Container Sanitation Regime Using Wood Smoke: Perceived Roles and Effects on Milk Quality in Borana, Ethiopia
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2019-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Smoking of containers by using specific wood is widely practiced in many rural parts of the Eastern Africa and constitutes traditional dairy utensils cleaning and sanitation procedures. However, studies assessing the detail procedures and further validating such practices for possible integration into milk quality improvement are quite limited. Specifically, the effect of container smoking on the microbial load of fermented milk over a given duration is not known. Therefore, the present study was designed with two main objectives: (1) to explore the details milk container smoking focusing the detail procedure of smoking, types of plants used and the perceived roles the practice on the quality of traditional fermented milk in typical pastoral area of Borana in Ethiopia, and (2) to assess the effect of smoking on the total bacteria count (TBC), pH and titratable acidity (TA) of whole milk fermented under laboratory condition by simulating the traditional practices. Qualitative approaches to assess the practices of milk container smoking and its perceived benefits towards quality of milk and milk products in Borana pastoral area of southern Ethiopia were used. The data collection involved 40 individual interviews and four focus group discussions (FGD) the women keeping livestock and involved in milk production and processing. The main focus of the qualitative data collection includes: (1) the details of the types of milk containers used in the area, (2) smoking processes of the containers, (3) types of plants used for smoking of the containers, and (4) perceived role of smoking with regard to quality and safety of milk or milk products. The containers were smoked by simulating the local practice identified during the qualitative investigation. In a laboratory experiment, the effect of sanitizing milk containers with smoke from three tree species (Olea europaea subsp. africana, Faurea speciosa and Terminalia brownii) using two milk containers (traditional vs. stainless steel) were assessed. The result of the qualitative study shows that various traditional milk containers made from diverse materials with different shape and sizes were used by Borana pastoralists. The smoking procedure as described and demonstrated by the women had different steps and varied according to the types of milk containers. The TBC, pH and TA of the fermented milk did not show statistically significant difference among the different milk container types and the sanitizing procedures. Comparison of TBC, pH and TA of the fermented milk product with the raw milk samples showed significant increment of TBC and increment in the pH and the TA. Finally, the experiment involving container sanitation using smoking has no appreciable effects in reducing microbial load in fermented milk. Though the smoking had no significant effect in reducing the bacterial load compared to raw milk, strong preference of the pastoralists for milk stored in smoked containers can warrant continues use of the procedure for improvement of the organoleptic profile of the milk.
Description
Keywords
traditional practice, milk hygiene, container smoking, traditional yoghurt, milk fermentation, Borana, pastoral area, Ethiopia