The aim of this study was to determine the e!ect of locality (region) and season on the nutrient composition of South African whole milk as consumed. Whole milk was collected in main cities identi"ed within "ve climatic regions in South Africa in summer (January and February) and in winter (June, July and August) over a period of 24 months (N"200) and analysed for nutrient composition.
The nutrient composition of whole milk in South Africa di!ered between the "ve localities and between winter and summer. Most of the variation could be related to the di!ering composition of the feed and practices (implying the level of feeding and the quality of the cow's diet). These results were con"rmed by the analyses of variance results for whole milk, which showed highly signi"cant di!erences for 44 of the 52 nutrients analysed between localities. CVA showed that locality was responsible for 72% of the variation in the data. When the e!ect of season was investigated, the analyses of variance results for whole milk showed highly signi"cant di!erences for 36 of the 52 nutrients analysed between seasons. In the CVA with the season by locality interaction, a clear separation between the nutrient composition of summer and winter milk was observed.