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3. MILK HYGIENE

Milk hygiene

MILK IS STERILE when secreted into an uninfected udder. Contamination occurs during and after milking. Exclude milk from clinical mastitis cases to avoid high bacterial counts. Use mastitis control routines at each milking to reduce the proportion of infected cows and clinical mastitis cases.
AVOID CONTAMINATION from dirty udders and teats by good cow housing and grazing management. Wash off visible dirt from udders and teats prior to applying the teat-cups.
If udder washing is necessary, then drying afterwards is essential. Individual paper towels for both washing and drying are preferable to udder cloths.
CLEAN AND DISINFECT milking and ancillary equipment after use, paying particular attention to milk contact surfaces which are a main source of contamination.

MILK HYGIENE

The milk secreted into an uninfected cow's udder is sterile. Invariably it becomes contaminated during milking, cooling and storage, and milk is an excellent medium for bacteria, yeasts and moulds that are the common contaminants. Their rapid growth, particularly at high ambient temperatures can cause marked deterioration, spoiling the milk for liquid consumption or manufacture into dairy products. This can be avoided by adopting the simple, basic rules of clean milk production.

Udder infection

The essential requirements are to maintain udders free from infection (eg. mastitis); manage cows so that their udders and teats are clean; milk them in such a way that minimises bacterial contamination; store the milk in clean containers and, wherever possible, at temperatures which discourage bacterial growth until collected. Simple and low-cost husbandry practises enable milk to be produced with a bacterial count of less than 50,000 per ml. The golden rule of clean milk production is that prevention is better than cure.

It is impossible to prevent mastitis infection entirely but by adopting practical routines it can be kept at low levels. Most mastitis is subclinical and although not readily detected by the stockman, it will not normally raise the bacterial count of herd milk above 50,000 per ml. Once the clinical stage is reached, the count may increase to several millions/ml and one infected quarter may result in the milk from the whole herd being unacceptable. It is important to detect clinical cases and exclude their milk from the bulk.

Other sources of contamination

Under normal grazing conditions, cows' udders will appear clean and therefore washing and drying will be unnecessary. Otherwise, any visible dirt must be removed using clean, running water, individual paper towels or cloths in clean water to which a disinfectant has been added (eg. sodium hypochlorite at 300 ppm). If udder cloths are used, provide a clean cloth for each cow. After each milking wash and disinfect them and hang up to dry. Disposable paper towels are preferable and more effective for drying after washing. When cows are housed or graze in heavily stocked paddocks, external udder surfaces are usually grossly contaminated with bacteria even when they appear visibly clean, therefore routine udder preparation procedures should be followed. Whenever udders are washed they should be dried.

Foremilking has little affect on the total bacterial count of the milk but is an effective way of detecting clinical symptoms of mastitis. Filtering or straining the milk removes visible dirt but not the bacteria in the milk because they pass through the filter. Aerial contamination of milk by bacteria is insignificant under normal production conditions.

The milk contact surfaces of milking and cooling equipment are a main source of milk contamination and frequently the principal cause of consistently high bacterial counts. Simple, inexpensive cleaning and disinfecting routines can virtually eliminate this source of contamination.

MILKING EQUIPMENT must have smooth milk contact surfaces with minimal joints and crevices. Renew rubber components at regular intervals.
WATER FOR DAIRY USE must be either an approved, piped supply or chlorinated (50 ppm) before use. In hard water areas, milking and ancillary equipment must be de-scaled periodically.
DETERGENTS are necessary to clean milking and ancillary equipment effectively before disinfection. Effectiveness is increased with solution temperature, concentration and time of application.

Cleaning milk production equipment

It is virtually impossible with practical cleaning systems to remove all milk residues and deposits from the milk contact surfaces of milking equipment. Except in very cold, dry weather, bacteria will multiply on these surfaces during the interval between milkings, so that high numbers (eg 106 per m2) can be present on visually clean equipment. A proven cleaning and disinfectant routine is required so that with the minimum of effort and expense, the equipment will have low bacterial counts as well as being visually clean.

The essential requirements are, to use milking equipment with smooth milk contact surfaces with minimal joints and crevices, an uncontaminated water supply, detergents to remove deposits and milk residues and a method of disinfection to kill bacteria.

Water supplies

Unless an approved piped supply is available it must be assumed that water is contaminated and therefore hypochlorite must be added at the rate of 50 ppm to the cleaning water. Hard water (ie. high levels of dissolved calcium and other salts) will cause surface deposits on equipment and reduce cleaning effectiveness. In such cases, it is necessary to use de-scaling acids such as sulphamic or phosphoric, periodically.

Detergents and disinfectants

Detergents increase the 'wetting' potential over the surfaces to be cleaned, displace milk deposits, dissolve milk protein, emulsify the fat and aid the removal of dirt. Detergent effectiveness is usually increased with increasing water temperature, and by using the correct concentration and time of application. Detergents contain inorganic alkalis (eg. sodium carbonate and silicates and tri-sodium phosphate), surface-active agents (or wetting agents), sequestering (water-softening) agents (eg. polyphosphates) and acids for de-scaling. Many proprietary, purpose-made detergents are usually available, but otherwise, an inexpensive mixture can be made to give a concentration in solution of 0.25% sodium carbonate (washing soda) and 0.05% polyphosphate (Calgon). Disinfectants are required to destroy the bacteria remaining and subsequently multiplying on the cleaned surfaces. The alternatives are either heat applied as hot water or chemicals. Heat penetrates deposits and crevices and kills bacteria, providing that correct temperatures are maintained during the process of disinfection. The effectiveness of chemicals is increased with temperature but even so, they do not have the same penetration potential as heat and they will not effectively disinfect milk contact surfaces which are difficult to clean.

DISINFECT milk contact surfaces with either hot water (≥85°C initial temperature) alone or with a chemical disinfectant.
PROVIDE A DAIRY or suitable place for cleaning and disinfecting, draining and storing milking and ancillary equipment which is not cleaned and disinfected in-situ.

When hot water alone is used, it is best to begin the routine with water at not less than 85°C, so that a temperature of at least 77°C can be maintained for at least 2 minutes. Many chemicals are suitable as disinfectants, some of them combined with detergents (ie. detergent-sterilisers). Use only those which are approved, avoiding particularly those which can taint milk (eg. phenolic disinfectants). Always follow the manufacturers instructions. Sodium hypochlorite is an inexpensive example of an approved disinfectant suitable for most dairy purposes. Sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) can also be very effective at concentrations of 3%–5% at ambient temperatures, providing adequate contact time is given with the surfaces to be cleaned and disinfected.

Dairy disinfectants are sold as concentrates and in this form are often corrosive and damaging to the skin and eyes. They should always be so labelled, handled with care and stored out of reach of children. Disinfectants should not be mixed unless specific instructions are given and disinfectant powders must be kept dry. If any concentrated detergent and/or disinfectant comes in contact with the skin or eyes the affected area should be washed immediately with copious amounts of clean water. If acids are used they must always be added to the water NOT vice versa.

CLEAN AND DISINFECT the ancillary equipment such as coolers, foremilk cups and udder cloths effectively using hot detergent/disinfectant solution.
DRAIN AND STORE all the milking and ancillary equipment in a clean place such as the dairy of the milking premises.

Milking premises

The milking premises should have a dairy or suitable place equipped with a piped hot and cold water supply, a washtrough, brushes, a work surface, storage racks and cupboards and, if necessary, a vacuum pipeline connection. In addition, it is advisable to have a dairy thermometer (0°C - 100°C), rubber gloves and goggles for use when handling chemicals.

Daily routines

Daily routines for cleaning and disinfecting vary with the size and complexity of the milking installation but will include methods of removing dirt and milk from the equipment followed by disinfection. For hand milking, bucket and direct-to-can milking machines, basic manual methods of cleaning and sterilizing are adequate and effective. For pipeline milking machines in-situ (in-place) systems are necessary.

Milk can become grossly contaminated from bacteria on ancillary equipment which must also be cleaned and disinfected effectively. Coolers, either the corrugated surface or the turbine in-can, can best be cleaned and disinfected manually and stored in the dairy to drain. Refrigerated bulk milk tanks can be cleaned either manually using cold or warm detergent/disinfectant solutions, or for the larger tanks, by automatic, programmed equipment. In either case, a cold water chlorinated (50 ppm) rinse preceeds and follows the washing solution. Foremilk cups can be a potent source of bacterial contamination and need to be cleaned and disinfected after each milking. They should then be stored in the dairy to drain.

It is important with any method of cleaning that the equipment is drained as soon as possible after washing for storage between milkings. Bacteria will not multiply in dry conditions but water lodged in milking equipment will, in suitable temperatures, provide conditions for massive bacterial multiplication. Equipment with poor milk contact surfaces, crevices and large number of joints, remaining wet between milkings in ambient temperatures above 20°C, should receive a disinfectant rinse (50 ppm available chlorine) before milking begins.


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