To comprehensively analyze the quality and safety parameters of Inner Mongolia’s local characteristic milk skin.

The local characteristic milk skin in Inner Mongolia (a total of 286 samples from 2021 to 2024) was used as the test sample, and 6 quality and safety parameters including nutritional components, pollutants and microorganisms were comprehensively analyzed by using the national food safety standard.

The moisture content of fresh milk skin, dried milk skin, milk skin (traditional basic form) and fancy milk skin were determined to be(42.37±7.40), (12.56±7.19), (28.28±10.87) and (31.85±12.92) g/100 g respectively, and their fat content was measured as (42.11±10.11), (51.58±12.15), (53.14±9.97) and (33.81±14.48) g/100 g respectively. A comprehensive analysis was conducted on the moisture and fat content of all 216 samples of milk skin in the traditional basic form (defined as the core category in this study) by different years. The average moisture content of (24.62±9.37), (31.86±10.03), (27.73±10.62) and(23.55±12.04) g/100 g, and an average fat content of (50.23±9.30), (54.79±9.79), (52.04±10.10) and (53.66±10.49) g/100 g;lead 5/241 pieces, Staphylococcus aureus not detected in 161 pieces, Salmonella not detected in 161 pieces, and mold 90/161 pieces detected.

There are significant differences in moisture and fat content among the 4 kinds of milk skin. Only dried milk skin and traditional basic-form milk skin satisfy the current local standard DB S15/001.2—2016 Mongolian traditional dairy products—Part 2: Milk skin. For the core product (traditional basic-form milk skin), the 4-year average content of moisture and fat meets the standard limits requirements specified in DB S15/001.2—2016, but non-qualified samples occurred annually. Levels of lead, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella comply with national food safety standards, showing good safety, while mold contamination risk existed,possibly related to the production environment. It is suggested to revise the current standard by setting differentiated limits for moisture, fat, protein and other core indexes based on production processes and product categories, and strengthen microbial control in production to support the standardized, safe and high-quality development of the milk skin industry in Inner Mongolia. This research provides quantitative data for the revision of local standards, further solidifying the scientificity and applicability of standards, and boost the standardized and branded development of local characteristic dairy products.