HANDLING PRACTICES AND POST-HARVEST LOSSES OF RAW COW MILK PRODUCED AND MARKETED IN MEKELLE CITY, TIGRAY REGION, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

The study was conducted from December 2022 to November 2023 in four selected sub-cities of Mekelle, Tigray region, Ethiopia, aimed to assess the general hygienic handling practice and post-harvest losses of raw cow milk produced and marketed in Mekelle city. A total of 160 respondents were interviewed to collect the required information from milk producers, vendors and cafeteria using a semi-structured questionnaire and observational check lists. Survey work includes hygienic milk handling practices, milk marketing channels, methods of milk quality tests, milk utilization, post-harvest losses of milk and constraints of milk production, processing and marketing. About 52.5% of the respondents were females and the rest 47.5% were males. From the total interviewed members about 33.8% were attend elementary school followed by high school(26.9%),diploma(22.5%),read and write (6.9%),degree (3.1%) and illiterates (2.5%). In the current study area, the average milk production per week was 123.09 liters/week. In the present study showed that majority of the respondents clean the barn once a day. Nearly all respondents used plastic containers for milking, storage and transportation purpose. This survey results revealed that cleaning of milk handling equipment is common in all respondents. The water source for milk producers (46.5%), vendors (100%) and cafeteria (100%) was tap water. The entire household in the study area were washed and smoked their milk containers for the purpose of improving flavor and increasing shelf life. Organoleptic and density test were the main methods of milk quality test. The weekly milk post-harvest losses for milk producers, vendors and cafeteria were 0.60%, 0.25% and 0.70% respectively. The main constraints of milk processing in the study area were lack of small scale processing equipment, low milk supply and poor milk quality. Among the milk handling practices conducted by milk vendors, sources of milk, types of milk containers and cleaning agents were significantly (p<0.05) associated with the age of the respondents.