Goat farming has become very popular amongst small-scale farmers both in the rural and urban areas of Kenya. Goat milk is quickly gaining track among consumers due to its many health benefits.
Value addition is the enhancement of raw products increasing its worth for consumption by the targeted consumers. Dairy goat farmers are now processing goat milk into pasteurized milk, yoghurt and cheese. Milk is collected from farmers and a quality test is performed to ensure freshness of milk.
Milk testing
Test the milk products to ensure it is of good quality and fresh to get good end products.
Check if the goat milk has been adulterated with cows milk. When the testing strip has both blue and red strips its positive. When the strip has a blue line only then its negative.
Do a bacterial test to confirm if the milk has water or additives. Check if the milk is adulterated with antibiotics if the strips are faded then the milk has antibiotics.
Milk processing
Milk analyzer is used to test: the freezing point, presence of water, the butter fat and PH levels. Test for the presence of Hydrogen peroxide which is used as a preservative.
Pour milk into the ballast tank and pump it into the processing area where they are pasteurised and cooled. Coolers are used to store excess milk for future use.
Pasteurization
After pasteurization lower the the milk temperatures to below 10 degrees. Goat milk undergoes various processes transforming it into pasteurised milk, yoghurt and cheese. Do trainings to farmers to ensure that they do not adulterate the goats milk.
Goat milk has different proteins and fats and is a good source of key vitamins. It is naturally lower in cholesterol.
