Abstract
Milk in Tanzania has been reported to be contaminated with large number of bacteria. This is because (1) milk is obtained from animals with unknown health status, (2) good milking and handling practices are to a large extent not observed, and (3) marketing and distribution are done in informal channels. These factors are potential causes of milk-borne diseases and milk quality loss. The aim of this study was to assess nutritional risks in milk as reported in literature over a period of 20 years and through analyses of samples collected during the present study. The issues highlighted in literature were high bacteria and coliform counts exceeding standard levels in East Africa, prevalence of bacteria and drug residues in milk, and adulteration. Based on performed analyses, total bacterial count 1.0 × 107 colony forming units per millilitre (cfu/ml) and total coliform count 1.1 × 107 cfu/ml, also greater than recommended levels, were found. Ten bacteria types were isolated from milk samples (five, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Listeria monocytogenes, Listeria innocua, Listeria ivanovii, and Klebsiella spp. are reported in Tanzanian for the first time). Two drugs tetracycline and sulphur were detected. Therefore, it is worth noting that integrated research is needed to evaluate the situation and address these challenges.
Highlights
Milk is of great importance in the rural communities of Africa as a source of macro- and macronutrients that improve the nutritional status of individuals and populations
Four major nutritional issues and risks in milk are extracted from literature, and these are (1) high levels of bacterial count to a greater extent exceeding levels acceptable at least in East African community (EAC) countries, (2) large number of pathogens isolated in milk samples including samples obtained in markets or milk aimed for consumption, (3) antimicrobial residues that have been detected in the milk, and (4) adulteration that has been detected and was shown to lower nutritional quality of milk and cause further infection with microorganisms (Table 1)
It can be shown that the levels of bacterial and coliform count reported in previous reports, for example, total bacterial count (TBC) values of 5.4 × 106 cfu/ml in [14], 3.3 × cfu/ml in [15], and total coliform count (TCC) between 1.4 × and 4.2 × 106 cfu/ml, as shown by [11] are higher compared to the levels accepted at least in EAC countries
Summary
Milk is of great importance in the rural communities of Africa as a source of macro- and macronutrients that improve the nutritional status of individuals and populations. At least 80% of milk consumed off-farm stems directly from farmers to consumers [6] In these channels, there is less regulation, rarely inspected traditional products predominate, actors are not licensed, and, in some occasions, products from sick animals may be consumed [7]. There is less regulation, rarely inspected traditional products predominate, actors are not licensed, and, in some occasions, products from sick animals may be consumed [7] These circumstances are linked to contamination of milk with high levels of bacteria, cause loss of nutritional quality of milk, and are probably the greatest challenges of the dairy industry in the country
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