Protein, Fatty Acid Profile and Microbiological Assessment of Contamination Route in Traditional Milk Handling of Cow and Goat Milk in Southwestern Nigeria

Milk is a nutritionally complete food pivotal to food security and rural livelihood in Nigeria. Goat milk is valued for its digestibility and nutrient dense, while cow milk remains widely consumed due to production volume. Despite these benefits, traditional handling practice which involve manual milking, use of non-sterile utensils, untreated water, and open-air exposure create significant risks of microbial contamination. This study provides a microbiological assessment of contamination route of cow and goat milk handling in four Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Oyo State: Akinyele, Ido, Ibarapa East and Ibadan North while simultaneously evaluating their nutritional profiles. Samples were collected from milking utensils, water sources and air using WHO recommendation protocols. Protein fractions were determined by Kjeldahl method, fatty acids by soxhlet extraction and gas chromatography and microbial loads by standard plate counts. Statistical analysis employed ANOVA within Duncan post hoc tests at p