Compositional, hygienic and sanitary quality of bovine milk in three regions of Ecuador.

Milk quality creates a scenario in which producers are required to meet standards established by regulations to ensure the production of a safe food product. This study aimed to characterize the compositional, hygienic, and sanitary quality of bovine milk in three regions of Ecuador: The Sierra (S), Coast (C), and Amazon (A). A total of 831 samples were analyzed following the LCL-INS-01 protocol to determine fat, protein, lactose, and total solids (TS) percentages, as well as total bacterial count (TBC), total and differentiated somatic cell counts (SCC and DSCC). The results indicated the following averages: Compositional quality: fat content—A:4.05%, S: 3.87%, and C: 3.46%; protein content—C: 3.35%, A: 3.25%, and S: 3.22%; lactose content—S: 4.61%, A: 4.59%, and C: 4.29%; and TS—A: 12.61%, S: 12.47%, and C: 11.74%. Hygienic quality: TBC—A: 5.7 x 10⁶, S: 5.5 x 10⁶, and C: 2.4 x 10⁵. Sanitary quality: SCC/ml—S: 354 x 10³, C: 110 x 10⁴, and A: 759 x 10³; DSCC—S: 67.52%, C: 67.62%, and A: 78.21%. These findings indicate the presence of mastitis in all three regions. In conclusion, all three regions met the compositional quality standards established by INEN. In terms of hygienic quality, compliance was observed in the Coast and Sierra regions, whereas sanitary quality requires improvement strategies across all regions. Addressing milk quality is a significant contribution to promoting better understanding and improvement in dairy production, consumer health, and the development of the dairy sector.