INFLUENCE OF THE AREA AND LACTATION ON PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PARAMETERS AND THE CONTENT OF HEAVY METALS IN THE DONKEY MILK

Donkey milk is considered a substitute for breast milk. Because of its nutritional and compositional properties it is very close to breast milk. Equine asinus can be considered suitable for feeding newborns, against cow's milk, which can cause intolerance. We determined the physico-chemical parameters of donkey milk with CombiFoss FT. The total germ count (TNG) was analyzed by BactoScan and the total number of somatic cells (TNS) by Fossomatic FC. Determination of heavy metals in milk was performed by mass spectrometry to identify Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn. Heavy metals are present in the environment but also in food and can cause serious health problems to the consumer. For the consumer, the main source of cadmium exposure is the food they consume, water and smoking. Cd contamination of dairy milk may also be due to the use of Cd-based chemicals, fertilizers, feed and waste water.