Quality attributes of set yogurt made from lactoperoxidase system activated cow’s milk

The study aimed to assess the quality attributes of set yoghurt made from cow's milk preserved by lactoperoxidase system (LPs). Fresh cow's milk was collected from Datto milk collection center and samples were grouped to control and LPs activated. Set yoghurt was prepared immediately for the controlled samples, but in LPs activated milk, sample was kept for 9 h at 25 °C ± 2 before yoghurt was made. LP enzyme was activated within 2 h after milking by adding 1 mg/ml of sodium thiocyanate (SCN_) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Totally, 36 L of cow's milk was used and the experiment was done in triplicates. Titratable acidity (TA) and pH were assessed every 30 min until coagulation formed. Yoghurt samples were stored for 21 days and different parameters were assessed including incubation duration, pH, TA, microbiological quality and sensory attributes. The results revealed that LPs partially suppressed the rate of acid production during incubation of cultured milk. Yoghurt made from LPs treated milk had significantly (P < 0.05) higher pH and lower TA values. Similarly, yoghurt made from LPs treated milk had lower total bacterial counts at 24-h, 72-h and 7-days of storages. Additionally, yoghurt from LPs activated milk had lower yeast and mold counts at 24-h and 7-days. Yoghurt made from LPs activated milk received better scores for the sensory attributes. In general, LPs activated milk can be used for making set yoghurt without a negative effect. Further studies are needed to illustrate the LPs activated milk fitness in making other cultured milk products

Finding best exotic breed proportion in crossbred lactating sheep kept under farmers’ conditions in Ethiopia determined by use of nested Legendre polynomials with limited data

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Aflatoxin exposure among lactating women in southern Ethiopia

In Ethiopia and many other low-income countries, little is known about the exposure of lactating women to aflatoxin, which is a major health concern to the mother and her nursing infant. We determined the aflatoxin B1 contamination of family foods (AFB1) and urinary aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) of lactating women in Sidama, southern Ethiopia, and compared the levels across agroecological settings (lowland, midland, highland) and two seasons. We conducted two surveys (n = 360) that represented the dry and wet seasons of the locality. AFM1 and AFB1 were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Statistical analysis was made using Mann–Whitney U test and Kruskal–Wallis test. The median (interquartile range) AFB1 was 0.94 (0.63–1.58) ppb. AFB1 was detected in 95.6% of the food samples, and 13.6% exceeded the 2.0 ppb threshold. We observed an increasing trend for aflatoxin exposure from highland to lowland (p &lt; .001), but there was no difference between seasons (p = .743). The median (interquartile range) urinary AFM1 was 214 (undetectable to 2,582) ppt, and AFM1 was detectable in 53.3% of the samples. Urinary AFM1 showed significant difference among agroecological zones (p &lt; .001) but not between seasons (p = .275). A significant but weak correlation was observed between AFB1 and urinary AFM1 (rs = 0.177, p = .001). We concluded that lactating women in Sidama, especially those in the lowland area, have unsafe exposure to aflatoxin