Participatory development of an indigenous goat cheese product: monitoring of the chemical, nutritional and microbiological quality from milk to cheese

[摘要] English: The milk of indigenous goats has great potential in providing a nutritionalfood for poverty stricken communities. The aim of this study was to investigatethe microbiological (spoilage and pathogenic), chemical (fat, protein and lactose)and nutritional (minerals, vitamins A and E) quality of indigenous goat milk fromMpumalanga and North West and compare it to Saanen goat milk. In almost allthe quality parameters, the milk of the indigenous goats had a higher quality thanthe Saanen milk. The differences of most of the quality parameters between theindigenous and Saanen goat milk were ascribed to feed, breed, lactation stage,age, health status and the fact that the Saanen goats were machine-milked, whilethe indigenous goats were milked by hand. Another aim was to produce a Gouda-type cheese from each of the threegoat milks. The microbiological (spoilage and pathogenic), chemical (moisture,total solids, ash, water activity, salt, fat content, free fat in dry matter, total freefatty acids, rancidity [TBA-value], fatty acid composition, protein content andproteolysis), nutritional (minerals and vitamins A and E) and sensory quality ofthe cheeses were then determined. The milk of the North West indigenous goatswas acidic at the start of cheese production, but was normalized duringproduction. The acidic nature of the cheese had, however, a negative effect onmost of the quality parameters and resulted in a harder cheese with a goaty smell.The Mpumalanga and Saanen cheeses compared well in all the quality parametersand the sensory analysis suggested that no significant difference were presentbetween these two cheeses. The conclusion was drawn that the milk of indigenous goats are anexcellent way to provide a nutritional quality food, expand commercial markets,create jobs and increase income in rural areas.

[发布机构] University of the Free State