Production and composition of sheep and goat milk and its comparison with cow milk

Posljednjih godina u Hrvatskoj sve je veći interes za proizvodnjom ovčjeg i kozjeg mlijeka, dok je proizvodnja kravljeg mlijeka u stalnom padu. Stoga, cilj ovog rada je prikazati odlike proizvodnje ovčjeg i kozjeg mlijeka u Republici Hrvatskoj, njihov sastav i fizikalne osobine u usporedbi s kravljim mlijekom. Uz to, cilj rada je prikazati trendove proizvodnje mlijeka u posljednjem desetljeću, pasminsku strukturu na kojoj se ta proizvodnja temelji te najvažnije tehnološke sličnosti i razlike u proizvodnji ovčjeg, kozjeg i kravljeg mlijeka. Isporučene količine ovčjeg, kozjeg i kravljeg mlijeka u Hrvatskoj u 2016. godini bile su 3.097.157, 4.041.849 i 489.645.699 kg, dok su najveći otkupljivači Vindija i Dukat. Proizvodnja ovčjeg mlijeka poglavito se temelji na hrvatskim izvornim pasminama ovaca (paška ovca, istarska ovca, dalmatinska pramenka, krčka ovca i rapska ovca) te u posljednje vrijeme sve više na uvezenim pasminama (istočnofrizijska ovca, Lacaune i Awassi), dok se proizvodnja kravljeg mlijeka ponajviše temelji na simantalskoj pasmini te Holstein i smeđoj pasmini, a kozjeg mlijeka na alpina i sanskoj pasmini. Kemijski sastav kozjeg i kravljeg mlijeka je vrlo sličan dok je ovčje mlijeko bogatije na mliječnoj masti i bjelančevinama. Probavljivost ovčjeg i kozjeg mlijeka je veća od kravljeg, zbog većeg udjela sitnijih masnih globula.In recent years, in Croatia has been increased interest in the sheep and goat's milk production, while cow's milk production is steadily declining. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to show the characteristics of sheep and goat's milk production in the Republic of Croatia, their composition and physical properties compared to cow's milk. Additionally, the aim of the paper is to show the trends of milk production in the last decade, the breed structure on which this production is based on and the most important technological similarities and differences in the production of sheep, goat and cow's milk. The delivered quantities of sheep, goat and cow's milk in Croatia in 2016 were 3,097,157, 4,041,849 and 489,645,699 kg, while the largest purchasers were Vindija and Dukat. The production of sheep milk is mainly based on Croatian indigenous sheep breeds (Pag sheep, Istrian sheep, Dalmatian premenka sheep, Krk sheep and Rab sheep) and lately more and more on imported breeds (East Friesian sheep, Lacaune and Awassi), while the production of cow's milk is mostly based on Simmental breed, Holstein and Brown breed, and goat's milk on the Alpine and Saanen breeds. The chemical composition of goat and cow's milk is very similar, while sheep milk is richer in milk fat and protein. Digestibility of sheep and goat's milk is higher than cow's, due to the higher proportion of smaller fat globules