Participatory development of an indigenous goat cheese product: monitoring of the chemical, nutritional and microbiological quality from milk to cheese

English: The milk of indigenous goats has great potential in providing a nutritional food for poverty stricken communities. The aim of this study was to investigate the microbiological (spoilage and pathogenic), chemical (fat, protein and lactose) and nutritional (minerals, vitamins A and E) quality of indigenous goat milk from Mpumalanga and North West and compare it to Saanen goat milk. In almost all the quality parameters, the milk of the indigenous goats had a higher quality than the Saanen milk. The differences of most of the quality parameters between the indigenous and Saanen goat milk were ascribed to feed, breed, lactation stage, age, health status and the fact that the Saanen goats were machine-milked, while the indigenous goats were milked by hand. Another aim was to produce a Gouda-type cheese from each of the three goat milks. The microbiological (spoilage and pathogenic), chemical (moisture, total solids, ash, water activity, salt, fat content, free fat in dry matter, total free fatty acids, rancidity [TBA-value], fatty acid composition, protein content and proteolysis), nutritional (minerals and vitamins A and E) and sensory quality of the cheeses were then determined. The milk of the North West indigenous goats was acidic at the start of cheese production, but was normalized during production. The acidic nature of the cheese had, however, a negative effect on most of the quality parameters and resulted in a harder cheese with a goaty smell. The Mpumalanga and Saanen cheeses compared well in all the quality parameters and the sensory analysis suggested that no significant difference were present between these two cheeses. The conclusion was drawn that the milk of indigenous goats are an excellent way to provide a nutritional quality food, expand commercial markets, create jobs and increase income in rural areas.