Dairy products from Burkina Faso: Quality and fraudulent practises

Objective The overall objective of the study was to provide data on the quality of local dairy products manufactured in Burkina Faso, in parallel with the quality of the some raw materials used, precisely powder milk. Specifically, a survey was carried out to identify the locally manufactured dairy products and the manufacturing practices, particularly the fraudulent ones not yet reported in the literature. Then these products as well as the fraudulent practices identified were evaluated. Methods Survey A semi-structured survey was carried out to report known locally manufactured dairy products, any alternative way locally used to process or preserve dairy products and characteristics of powder milk present at market level. Sampling The samples (15) of dairy products locally manufactured were selected in taking into account the nature of the raw material. The raw material samples (21) corresponding to repackaged powder milk brands, used for manufacturing these dairy products, were also purchased. Milk from manual milking was sampled in a farm and brought to laboratory as an attempt to reproduce and evaluate in laboratory the mispractises reported. Analyses Acidity, pH values, moisture contents, and microbiological counts were determined on locally manufactured dairy products and powder milk samples. Samples of yoghurt and gappal from both raw milk and powder milk were subjected to sensory analyses. Based on the reports of some fraudulent practises, an attempt was made to reproduce and evaluate the mispractises in laboratory with different concentrations of salt (NaCl) and different concentrations of a popular street medicine “toupaye” or “toupaï” (supposedly an antibiotic). Results Results showed that good manufacturing practices were not stricly observed. Powder milk samples showed absence of Enterobacteria. However fungal flora and thermotolerant coliforms loads were unsatisfactory for most of the manufactured products. Sensory analyses showed that products from powder milk were more appreciated than those made from raw milk. Data from the assessment in laboratory of fraudulent practises suggest that people during the survey did not report fully all the malpratices used to preserve illegally the raw milk from spoilage.