Quality Assessment of Incoming Raw Milk from Rural Areas to Chattogram City

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to examine the nutritional, chemical, and microbiological characteristics of raw milk procured from various points of entry inside the Chattogram City Corporation. To achieve the study's goals, 40 samples were gathered from 5 different locations; 20 of these samples were taken during the winter (5th-30th January) and the rest 20 samples in summer (25th April-10th May) to assess the raw milk's quality using physical (specific gravity), nutritional (percentage of butter fat, protein, lactose, solids-not-fat, and total solids), chemical (titratable acidity), added preservatives, adulteration status, and microbial (total viable count, detection of E. coli) status. During winter and summer, the average specific gravity was 1.031±0.00 and 1.03±0.00, respectively, while the highest values were 1.042±0.00 and 1.043±0.00. During winter and summer, the average percentages of fat, solids-not-fat, and total solids in milk were 2.4±0.21, 9.37±0.03, and 12.0±0.06, respectively, in terms of nutritional quality. The average lactose percentage during winter was 5.09±0.20 and, during summer was 3.77±0.13. However, summer samples also had the lowest protein percentage, 2.72±0.00. In summer, the study found a fat content of 1.53±0.12 per cent, but in winter, it was 9.05±0.01 per cent. In summer, the average titratable acidity% was 0.19±0.013, while in winter, it was 0.14±0.00. Almost every single milk sample, regardless of where it was taken, had water added to it. And whereas 35% of winter samples tested positive for starch, 25% of summer samples were positive for starch as well. Nine samples from the summer included hydrogen peroxide, which is the most concerning fact. The summer sample had the highest Total Viable Count (TVC) of 6.8×106 CFU/ml, while the winter sample had the lowest of 3.45×102 CFU/ml. Conversely, 90% of the samples tested positive for E. coli. According to this investigation, all of the milk samples taken from various vendors in the city corporate area were found to have hazardous levels of microbiological quality. Hence all the raw milk samples were substandard and unsafe.