Role of Female and Male Headed Households in Dairy Production, Processing and Marketing in Walmera District of Central High Lands of Ethiopia

A formal survey was conducted in Rob Gebeya women dairy producers of Walmera districts of West Shewa in central highlands of Ethiopia. The objective of the study was to identify constraints of female headed households (FHH) in comparison with male headed households (MHH) in dairy production, handling, processing and marketing. A total of 66 dairy producer households were randomly selected from a women dairy producer association in Rob Gebeya ‘kebele’ of Walmera district. The average family size (Mean ± SE) in the FHHs in Rob Gebeya was 4.8 ± 0.7 persons per household  whereas the MHHs was 6.0 ± 0.3 persons. FHHs had less access to education than MHHs in Rob Gebeya. Dairy and food crop based farming enterprises were identified as major sources of livelihood. Record keeping is not common in more than half of the respondents both in female and male headed households. The situation is more aggravated in FHH where more than 80% of the FHHs do not keep any type of farm record. In 57% of MHH, husbandry and management of dairy animals was undertaken mainly by MHHs. In 50 % of the households, milking was the responsibility of women. About 66.7% MHHs and 63.6% FHH sell milk. The major marketing segment for raw whole milk is neighbors. About 60.4% of male and 55.6% FHH sold their milk directly to their neighbors. In 64.9% of MHH, women exclusively control income from milk sells. While, 21.6 % of the husbands controlled the income from sell of milk. The major production constraints in the study area were poor quality of feed (27.5%) and feed shortage (29.4%) in MHH. Only 36.4% of FHH had access to training on dairy production and farm management aspects. While, 74.5 % of MHH had access to training. The major constraints can be alleviated by enhancing utilization of available feed resources, improved health, reproductive management, targeted trainings and improved dairy technology. Keywords: dairy, household groups, production, processing, marketing

Global Food Fraud Trends and Their Mitigation Strategies: The Case of Some Dairy Products: A Review

This review was initiated with the objective of assessing global food fraud trends and their mitigation strategies with special emphasis on some dairy products. Different aspects of food fraud such as the types of food fraud (adulteration, tampering, counterfeiting, artificial enhancement, use of non-declared, unapproved, or banned biocides, misrepresentation of nutritional content, fraudulent labeling claims and removal of authentic constituents etc), global food fraud trends, why is food fraud a growing concern, incidents of food fraud, top ten food fraud vulnerable food ingredients and milk and milk based products fraud and their mitigation strategies to address food fraud were discussed. The increasing trend in food fraud practices led to food safety concerns; which led companies to build brands on reputable basis for safety and quality. In the meantime markets grew from local to global. This led to complexity of supply chains and this has aggravated food fraud. Based on this, it was concluded that fighting food fraud and adulteration remains a race between the criminals committing food fraud and the scientists developing new methods to uncover food fraud, frequent analysis and quality control measures  are essential to create awareness among the public about malpractices in food  supply chains, consumers must be aware about the kind of food they consume, the regulatory authorities should realize and practice frequent inspection of the market to check whether food products meets the minimum legal standards. It is also recommended that academic institutions should shift from intervention and respond to prevention, define the value of technology and enforcement of food laws and education in behavioral sciences and criminology. The industry’s food fraud prevention focus has to be holistic and has to build consumer confidence, industry has to engage governments in request for comments and risk assessment. The governments has to focus broadly on product fraud not just adulterants, define food fraud in laws not just in regulations or guidance documents, create and engage public private partnership forum and risk assessment. Keywords: Global, Food, Fraud, mitigation, safety, dairy, product

Status and Challenges in the Safety and Quality of Dairy Products in Ethiopia: A Review

In this paper, the status and challenges in the safety and quality of dairy products in Ethiopia were assessed with the objective of reviewing the existing scenario,  challenges  and revealing the gaps in the safety and quality of dairy products in the country. The review revealed that about 98 % of dairy products comes from the traditional informal sector. The major dairy products traditionally produced in Ethiopia are raw whole milk, spontaneously fermented milk ('Ergo' or 'Ittitu'), butter milk ('arera'), cottage type cheese ('ayib'), local  butter ('dhadha'), tradtional ghee ('nitir kibe' or 'dhadhaa baksa') and whey. The results of different reports on the safety of dairy products in terms of their microbiological quality parameters such as total aerobic mesophilic bacteria and total counts were substandard. Similarly, the quality parameters in terms of physicochemical characteristics such as freezing points of raw whole milk,  specific gravity and several other parameters were below standard. In this review, adulteration of milk is also proved to be an increasing trend. Ingeneral, the dairy products in Ethiopia do not fulfill the minimum standard requirements set by Ethiopian standard and other standards. Furthermore, the information on safety and quality of dairy products in Ethiopia is not comprehensive. Further research and policy guidelines on authentication of dairy products  is vital. Future research has to focus on data generation on spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms, drug and pesticide residue levels, aflatoxin and adulteration practices in dairy products. There is a need to devise means of promotion of modern dairy industry that is responsive to market demand and public health concerns through enforcing quality assurance programs and fulfillment of minimum standard requirements for delivery of authentic dairy products. Keywords: Safety, quality, challenges, dairy product

Assessment of Safety and Quality of Raw Whole Cow Milk Produced and Marketed by Smallholders in Central Highlands of Ethiopia

A study aimed to assess safety and quality of raw whole cow milk through determination of chemical and bacteriological quality was conducted in Ejere, Walmera, Selale and Debre-Birhan districts of central highlands of Ethiopia. Purposive random sampling technique was used for collection of 108 raw milk samples from producers in the study areas. The samples were analyzed in Holeta dairy research laboratory using standard procedures. The overall means for fat, protein, total solids, ash, lactose, SNF, total aerobic mesophilic bacteria, total coliforms, Entrobacteriaceae and titratable acidity, were 3.76 %, 3.10 %, 12.24 %, 0.61%, 5.08 %, 8.56%, 8.2 log10 cfu/ml, 8.58 log 10 cfu/ml, 11.36 log 10 cfu/ml, 0.27 respectively. All chemical components across locations showed significant (P<0.01) difference except that of ash. The microbial qualities also showed highly significant difference at P<0.01 for all locations. The average composition of protein, total solids and ash were below the standard set by the Ethiopian Standard Agency. The lower average total solids might be due to the practice of adulteration and fat skimming before taking milk to collection points. The lower protein content might be due to deficiency of crude protein in the cow ration. All the bacteriological parameters tested and titratable acidity were substandard. The higher bacteriological count in the present study could be attributable to unhygienic milking practices which features to milking without cleaning the udder and lower abdominal body part of cows. Use of local unsanitized containers for milking, dirty milking areas, poor personnel hygiene and lack of milk cooling systems are the major factors contributing to the poor bacteriological quality and titratable acidity of the milk samples. respectively. Hence, regulatory bodies should take strict monitoring and quality control measures at all levels from production to consumption. There should also be sustainable awareness on the good manufacturing practices. This would  rectify the shortcomings in both properties of milk to assure the delivery of safe and quality raw whole milk to the end users. Keywords: Safety, quality, raw, whole, milk,  smallholders, marketed, central highlands, Ethiopia

Role of Female and Male Headed Households in Dairy Production, Processing and Marketing in Rob Gebeya Women Association of Walmera District of Central High Lands of Ethiopia

A formal survey was conducted in Rob Gebeya women asociation of Walmera districts of West Shewa in central highlands of Ethiopia. The objective of the study was to identify constraints of female headed households (FHH) and male headed households (MHH) in dairy production, handling, processing and marketing. A total of 66 women dairy producer households were randomly selected from a women association in Rob Gebeya ‘kebele’ of Walmera district. The average family size (Mean ± SE) in the FHHs was 4.8 ± 0.7 persons per household  whereas the MHHs was 6.0 ± 0.3 persons. FHHs had less access to education than MHHs. Dairy and food crop based farming enterprises were identified as major sources of livelihood. Record keeping was not common in more than 50% of the respondents both in FHHs and MHHs. The situation was more aggravated in FHH where more than 80% of FHHs do not keep farm records. In 57% of MHH, husbandry and management of dairy animals was undertaken by MHHs. In 50 % of the households, milking was the responsibility of women. About 66.7% MHHs and 63.6% FHH sell milk. The major marketing segment for raw milk were neighbors. About 60.4% of male and 55.6% FHH sold their milk directly to their neighbors. In 64.9% of MHH, women control income from milk sells. While 21.6 % of the husbands controlled income from milk sells. The major production constraints were poor quality of feed (27.5%) and feed shortage (29.4%) in MHH. Only 36.4% of FHH had access to training While, 74.5 % of MHH had access to training on dairy production and farm management aspects. The major constraints can be alleviated by enhancing utilization of available feed resources, improved health, reproductive management, targeted trainings and introduction of improved dairy technology. Keywords: dairy, household groups, production, processing, marketin

Dairy Production Potential and Challenges in Western Oromia Milk Value Chain, Oromia, Ethiopia

Challenges and opportunities of milk production potential in western Oromia Dairy value chain was studied with the general essence of understanding the status of milk production, marketing and utilization of the area along with the constraints hindering the development of the sector. Seven Towns, namely Ambo, Naqamte, Gimbi, Dambi-Dollo, Baddalle, Mattu and Jimma were purposively selected on the basis of their significance in the dairy production of the region. Altogether 161 dairy farmers dwelling in these peri-urban dairy farming systems were purposefully selected and interviewed individually using a semi-structured questionnaire. The questions posed to the farmers include aspects of dairy cattle production and productivity breeding management, available feed resource and feeding strategy, milk and milk product consumption patterns and marketing, Challenges in milk production and potential opportunities available for the improvement in the dairy sector were assessed. Perusal of the results revealed that there are location differences in cattle holding, milk production, consumption and marketing system. It was found that both local breeds and dairy types (crosses) of animals were kept in the area. The dairy types are mostly Holstein Friesian with different blood levels, and were reported to produce on average more than 3 folds (6.5 lt vs 2.2 lt) of the local animals. Large number of lactating cows and high milk production per household was being reported from Jimma. While small number of cows and low milk production per household was reported from Gimbi of west Wollega zone. It is evident from the result that the demand in dairying is steadily increasing in all the study sites. Results also emphasized the important role of dairying in generating employment in the peri-urban system of Oromia regional State. However, unavailability of improved dairy stock and in adequate A.I. services, shortage of feeds and cost of concentrates, disease challenges and price fluctuation in milk and milk products are some of the bottlenecks that requires systematic planning and intervention from all development practitioners

Chemical, microbial, and sensory characteristics of cow butter as affected by modified atmospheric packaging

In Ethiopia, butter production, handling, packaging, and storage often face challenges and are susceptible to deterioration. This research aimed to evaluate the effect of modified atmospheric packaging (MAP) on the chemical, microbial, and sensory characteristics of butter during a 12-month storage period. The modified Atmospheric Packaging (MAP) with [MAP1 (10 ± 5% O2 and 50 ± 5% CO2), MAP2 (5 ± 5% O2 and 75 ± 5% CO2), MAP3 (95 ± 5% CO2) and ambient air (21% O2, 0.03% CO2 and 78%N2)] were evaluated in the study. The study found significant variations in chemical and microbial parameters for different MAP conditions. The pH value ranged from 6.65 to 3.87, moisture content from 16.5 to 13.49%, crude fat content from 81.08 to 84.27%, free fatty acid 0.92–25.4% oleic acid, Acid value 1.29–41.46 mg KOH/gram and peroxide value 0.2–7.62 meq peroxide. kg−1. Throughout the 12 months of storage, all analyzed microbial parameters in the butter samples increased significantly, while sensory attributes deteriorated. However, butter stored in an environment with higher concentrations of CO2 maintained its quality and shelf stability for the entire storage time. The results also revealed strong correlations among all the parameters studied. Based on these findings, it is recommended to use MAP3 (95 ± 5% CO2) to enhance the storage quality and shelf stability of traditional cow butter. This research provides valuable insights for both the food industry and consumers, as it contributes to prolonging the shelf life of butter. It is recommended that reducing the level of ambient O2 and increasing the percentage of CO2 in the packaging retain the quality of butter during storage

Assessment of risk factors of food safety in local butter marketing in Kersa, Mana and Welmera districts of Oromia, Ethiopia

Risk factors pre-disposing local butter to food safety hazards in the informal marketing system along the supply chain of the central highlands and south-west midlands of Ethiopia were assessed. Purposive random sampling technique was used to select 1101 respondents from the local butter supply chain (532 producers, 107 retailers and 462 consumers). Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire developed separately for each category of respondents. Ninety- nine percent of the respondents indicated that butter was stored and marketed at ambient temperature with no cold chain management. Common butter storage materials included high-density polyethylene containers (51%), low-density polyethylene plastic bags (29%) and clay pots (73%). The respondents packed and marketed butter using castor leaves, plastic cups and false banana leaves and lints. Stream, river and borehole water sources were used to wash vessels, churners and fresh butter. However, only 23% of the respondents used tap water for the same purposes. The majority of the respondents trekked on their foot to take butter to local market places followed by the use of horse carts (11%) and three-wheel drives (10%). Itinerant traders and retailers played key roles in the informal supply chain of butter. Overall, there are no standard operating procedures and infrastructures along the supply chain. Thus, local butter supplied to consumers is liable to sensorial, physico-chemical and microbial deterioration and is exposed to risks of food-borne pathogens. The practices endanger the safety and quality of local butter unless stringent quality control measures are taken by concerned regulatory bodies. The objective of the study was to identify risk factors and design intervention to minimize the food safety hazards in butter