Abstract :
The aim of this study is to update the values concerning nutritional components for sheep
and goat dairy products. The bibliography examines first the main biochemical constituents
of sheep and goat milk products but also the more specific components with potential nutritional
impact and lastly it gathers information on the relationship between cheese and
milk compositions and the impact of technologies. Since the composition of French small
ruminant cheeses is not well established, with composition tables being old and lacking
information, recent studies have been conducted in France to investigate the nutritional
characteristics of sheep and goat milks and cheeses on a large scale. Goat milk cheese sampling
was representative of French production, taking into account the variability linked to
geographic origin, dairy or on-farm transformation and type of cheeses. Fresh lactic cheeses
made with raw (6 samples) or pasteurised (6) milk, ripened lactic cheeses made with raw
(11) or pasteurised (6) milk, spreads (4), soft ripened cheeses (6 “Chèvre Boite or “Brique”
type cheeses) and 4 bulk rawmilkswere sampled twice in a summer–autumn period. These
86 samples were analysed for their nutritional value. The impact of the technological process
was assessed with, for example, its effect on mineral and vitamin B content. With
respect to sheep, 5 representative samples of milk were collected, just before cheese making,
in the 3 main French traditional areas of dairy sheep production. The sampling was
carried out 4 times in the year. The objectivewas to explore the variability of the nutritional
characteristics of the original milk. The cheeses made with these milks were analysed after
ripening with a double objective: to specify their nutritional content and to assess the relationship
between milk and cheese content. Some preliminary results are given concerning
fatty acids.
