Recent advances in exploiting goat's milk: quality, safety and production aspects N. Silanikove a,*, G. Leitnerb, U. Merinc, C.G. Prosserd a Biology of Lactation Laboratory, Institute of Animal Science, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel. b National Mastitis Reference Center, Kimron Veterinary Institute, P.O. Box 12, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel c Department of Food Science, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel dDairy Goat Co-operative (N.Z.) Ltd., Hamilton, New Zealand * Corresponding author: Tel: +972 8 9484436, Fax: + 972 8 9475075. E-mail address:
[email protected] (N. Silanikove) 2 Abstract Goat milk production is a dynamic and growing industry that is fundamental to the wellbeing of hundred of millions of people worldwide and is an important part of the economy in many countries. The aim of the present review is to provide an integrated and critical analysis of the major aspects in this field to highlight unexploited nutritional potential of goat milk and the need for improvements, particularly in food-safety. First, it should be kept in mind that goat milk like cow milk delivers many nutrients with relatively low energy content, and is relevant to the health of consumers throughout the life cycle. In addition, our review presents data suggesting that goat milk possesses many advantages over cow's milk, for use as a nutritional source for infants and children and as a medicinal food. Furthermore, we suggest that goats, by consuming large amounts of natural browsing plants all year around, is a potentially overlooked "treasure trove", with respect to health promoting components.