Assessment of microbial and aflatoxin contamination levels of pasteurized and ultra-heat- treated milk products in Addis Ababa

Abstract

Background: Quality and safety of milk and milk products is essential to the health of consumers. Different countries have set specific limits for monitoring the quality status of milk and milk products. Studies reported presence of compositional and microbial quality failures in pasteurized milk products in Ethiopia but reliable data is lacking on aflatoxin quality statuses. Possible presence of association between quality status of milk products and places of their manufacture was also not assessed and reported. Objective: The objective is to assess the aflatoxin and microbial quality status of pasteurized and ultra-heat-treated milk brands and detect presence of significant association between the quality status and places of products manufacture. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 17 pasteurized and ultra-heat-treated milk brands purchased in Addis Ababa for determining the aflatoxin M1 and microbial quality status. Results: 14 out of 17 (82.4%) milk brands were found having acceptable aflatoxin M1 quality status based on the standards set by the Ethiopian Standards Agency and the European Union. Microbial quality tests show 9 out of 17 and 12 out of 17 of milk samples were found having acceptable levels of total plate and total coliform counts respectively. Significant association was detected between the total plate count quality statuses of the milk brands and the places where they were manufactured while no significant association was detected for total coliforms count. Conclusion and recommendation: Compared with earlier report on raw milk samples, the current Aflatoxin M1 acceptable quality status of pasteurized and ultra-heat-treated milk brands is considerably high. However, the unacceptable level of microbial quality failures detected in locally produced milk brands is still so high that it demands more attention be given by the relevant regulatory bodies for its improvement........................................ Thesis available at ACIPH Library