Author(s)

Hysen Bytyqi, Idriz Vehapi, Sejdi Rexhepi, Mentor Thaqi, Dritan Sallahi, Ibrahim Mehmeti

Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary, University of Prishtina, Prishtina, Kosovo.
Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary, University of Prishtina, Prishtina, Kosovo;Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB), ?s, Norway..

The basic goal of this research was to determine the impact of the presence of bacterial (CFU) and somatic cells count content (SCC) in quality of fresh milk in some small cattle farms in Kosovo. The survey was based on existing standards for milk quality in Kosovo placed under administrative guidance MA-no. 20/2006. The study was based on fresh milk analysis of 150 farms performed during the period September-December 2012, which was obtained in 9 different localities (collection points) of the Kosovo. Our study reveals that CFU and SCC in fresh milk were significantly affected by a number of factors, as: sampling period (repetition), locality, breed, and time of sampling (evening or/and morning). According to the results for CFU and SCC, there were big differences between the farms (milk collection points) included in the study (P < 0.0403) and (P < 0.0293). The results show that small size breed like Busha and its crosses tend to be less exposed to SCC/mL in milk (72.840) and (293.592), compared to Black Holstein (613.462), Simmental (521.519) and Brown Swiss (418.44). Milk produced in evening tended to be of better quality (259.854 CFU/mL) compared to the one from morning milking (576.689 CFU/mL). Fresh milk quality analyzed in the third repetition was better for about 33.3% compared with the repletion first. For CFU and SCC, the analyses show that about 74.7% and 64.7% of milk produced belongs to extra quality, while lower quality of milk of category three is 12.0% and 23.3%, respectively. Considering that about 85% of milk produced in Kosovo comes from small-scale dairy farms, the current study sets out that small-scale milk production system cannot be neglected by interest parties in dairy sector and needs permanent following up and improvement.

Fresh Milk; Bacteria Content; Somatic Cell; Milk Quality Standards

H. Bytyqi, I. Vehapi, S. Rexhepi, M. Thaqi, D. Sallahi and I. Mehmeti, "Impact of Bacterial and Somatic Cells Content on Quality Fresh Milk in Small-Scale Dairy Farms in Kosovo," Food and Nutrition Sciences, Vol. 4 No. 10, 2013, pp. 1014-1020. doi: 10.4236/fns.2013.410132.