Risk assessment of dairy value chain in Assam, Northeast India

Traditional (informal) milk market accounts for 97 percent of fresh milk supply I Assam and attempts to establish dairy cooperatives have had limited success. In areas with relatively poor market access, these informal markets represent the only market opportunity for dairy farmers. However, widespr...

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Main Authors: Grace, Delia, Lapar, Ma. Lucila, Deka, Ram Pratim
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/51350
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author Grace, Delia
Lapar, Ma. Lucila
Deka, Ram Pratim
author_browse Deka, Ram Pratim
Grace, Delia
Lapar, Ma. Lucila
author_facet Grace, Delia
Lapar, Ma. Lucila
Deka, Ram Pratim
author_sort Grace, Delia
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Traditional (informal) milk market accounts for 97 percent of fresh milk supply I Assam and attempts to establish dairy cooperatives have had limited success. In areas with relatively poor market access, these informal markets represent the only market opportunity for dairy farmers. However, widespread concerns about milk safety and quality have led to decision makers and government support services to ignore or penalize the traditional milk sector. A series of studies among milk value chain actors was conducted to better understand the milk sector in Assam, assess the risk to human health posed by the traditional milk sector, and develop an action plan for improving the performance of the traditional milk sector. Key findings of the studies are: (1) most milk samples do not meet microbiological standards; (2) adulteration of milk is widespread but does not appear to represent a risk to human health; (3) milk handling practices are very poor and is associated with low levels of food safety; and (4) only a minority of milk is pasteurized, and while this does reduce the level of bacterial count, it does not guarantee absence of adulteration or compliance with standards. The risk assessment of the dairy supply chain suggests the following key results: (1) the majority of milk sampled in urban Assam did not meet local standards and may present a risk to public health and (2) formal milk outlets are no better than informal milk outlets in terms of the level of compliance with milk quality standards. Opportunities to potentially improve food safety in traditional milk markets are thus possible and the most promising intervention is some form of certification scheme involving training of informal milk vendors in milk handling.
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spelling CGSpace513502023-02-15T10:07:16Z Risk assessment of dairy value chain in Assam, Northeast India Grace, Delia Lapar, Ma. Lucila Deka, Ram Pratim milk production Traditional (informal) milk market accounts for 97 percent of fresh milk supply I Assam and attempts to establish dairy cooperatives have had limited success. In areas with relatively poor market access, these informal markets represent the only market opportunity for dairy farmers. However, widespread concerns about milk safety and quality have led to decision makers and government support services to ignore or penalize the traditional milk sector. A series of studies among milk value chain actors was conducted to better understand the milk sector in Assam, assess the risk to human health posed by the traditional milk sector, and develop an action plan for improving the performance of the traditional milk sector. Key findings of the studies are: (1) most milk samples do not meet microbiological standards; (2) adulteration of milk is widespread but does not appear to represent a risk to human health; (3) milk handling practices are very poor and is associated with low levels of food safety; and (4) only a minority of milk is pasteurized, and while this does reduce the level of bacterial count, it does not guarantee absence of adulteration or compliance with standards. The risk assessment of the dairy supply chain suggests the following key results: (1) the majority of milk sampled in urban Assam did not meet local standards and may present a risk to public health and (2) formal milk outlets are no better than informal milk outlets in terms of the level of compliance with milk quality standards. Opportunities to potentially improve food safety in traditional milk markets are thus possible and the most promising intervention is some form of certification scheme involving training of informal milk vendors in milk handling. 2012-12-15 2014-11-03T11:30:08Z 2014-11-03T11:30:08Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/51350 en Limited Access Grace, D., Lapar, M.L. and Deka, R. 2012. Risk assessment of dairy value chain in Assam, Northeast India. Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development 9(3): 83.
spellingShingle milk production
Grace, Delia
Lapar, Ma. Lucila
Deka, Ram Pratim
Risk assessment of dairy value chain in Assam, Northeast India
title Risk assessment of dairy value chain in Assam, Northeast India
title_full Risk assessment of dairy value chain in Assam, Northeast India
title_fullStr Risk assessment of dairy value chain in Assam, Northeast India
title_full_unstemmed Risk assessment of dairy value chain in Assam, Northeast India
title_short Risk assessment of dairy value chain in Assam, Northeast India
title_sort risk assessment of dairy value chain in assam northeast india
topic milk production
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/51350
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