A Study of Milk Quality And Public Health Hazards in The Smallholder Per-Urban Dairy Marketing System in Ghana

ABSTRACT

OF THE STUDY Dairying is a young and developing industry in G hana, and one o f the m ajor problem s it faces is the low dem and o f the m ilk produced. This is partly due to public concerns over the safety and quality o f the m ilk produced, and also the hygienic practices o f informal agents. However, the extent o f risks posed to hum an health by consum ption o f m ilk and dairy products in the country is not well docum ented. This project w as therefore carried out to study the quality and the public health hazards inherent in m arketed m ilk in Ghana. The study was conducted at two sites, nam ely A ccra (Peri-urban A ccra) and Kumasi (Peri-urban Kum asi) in Ghana. The areas or districts w ere chosen w ithin these sites to represent a variation in consum er concentration, m arket access and dairy production intensity w ithin each site. Data related to m ilk handling, and other m arket factors that affect m ilk quality, or pose a risk to public health w ere collected during the dry and wet seasons (1999-2000) from respondents selected by a stratified random sam pling within each area. M ilk sam ples w ere also obtained from the respondents for laboratory analysis for their quality and health risks. These involved the assessm ent o f their bacteriological quality, determ ination o f the bacterial flora, the evaluation o f contam ination with antim icrobial agents, and assessm ent o f the com positional quality and adulteration. Laboratory data and the m arket level data w ere analysed to assess the m ilk quality and m ilk-borne health hazards, and their relationship w ith season, site, and m arketing factors, including the handling and hygienic practices o f m arket agents.