Assessment of Hygienic Quality of Some Imported Dairy Products

Abstract

The study highlighted the quality of some imported dairy products. Ninety random samples of imported milk powder, labneh and cheddar cheese, investigated organoleptically and microbiologically. The sensory evaluation revealed that the majority of the examined labneh and cheddar cheese got excellent and good scores, while 90 % of milk powder samples got good scores, based on the overall acceptability scale. Also, the melamine was detected in all examined milk powder with a mean value of 111.074±4.404 ng LG1, however, they were following the Codex Alimentarius and the European Commission in all samples. Also investigate the consumer’s purchasing perception of imported milk powder, cheddar cheese and labneh retailed in the Egyptian markets versus the domestic one. An online questionnaire survey of 432 Egyptian consumers was made. Higher educated consumers were more aware about the criteria used for purchasing products with higher quality and safety (p>0.05). Understanding consumer purchasing perception provides critical information for firms working in food supply chain business to develop their marketing strategies. Key words: Quality, Hygienic, Dairy, Products