Milk containing
dirt, dust, foreign materials, high bacterial count and with
off flavour is called a contaminated milk. Different sources of
contamination of milk are given below:
UDDER:
Unsanitary conditions of milking barns and bedding of the animal
causes bacterial growth. Such
bacteria may enter into the udder through teet canal, which causes
infection of udder like mastitis and it ultimately results in
contamination of milk.
To
avoid contamination from udder, udder must be cleaned before
milking. Same towel should not be used for more than one udders.
Initial squirts of milk should be discarded as it contains high
bacterial count. For better health of udder complete milking should
be done.
Exterior of Animal’s Body:
Bacteria present on the animal body may enter in to the milk at the
time of
milking. Maintenance of clean
skin, washing flank and udder with clean damp cloth before
milking reduces the contamination from this source. |
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Milking Barns:
Milking barns with good ventilation and neat flooring avoids
contamination.
Flies and other Vermins:
External parasites like flies, lice, mosquitoes etc. may have their
entry in to
milk. So care should be taken to
avoid these parasites from the barn by spraying fly spoors or
by fly traps. Breeding places for these parasites like stagnant
water, moist atmosphere etc. should be avoided.
Milker:
Milker is directly responsible in producing good quality milk. Dirty
hands
and clothing of the milker may be
the source of contamination. Several bacterial
diseases may transmit from the
milker, or handler to the consumer through milk. Persons
suffering from diseases like T.B, Typhoid fever, diphtheria may not
be employed for milking. Dirty habits like smoking, drinking should
be avoided. Milker should cover his head while milking and his nail
must be trimmed.
Utensils:
Utensils are the containers
or equipments in which the milk is handled, processed, stored or
transported. Clean sanitized, smooth, copper free and dry utensils
may be used for handling milk.
Milking Methods:
Wet
hand milking and fisting causes contamination of milk. Wet hand
milking makes the teats look harsh and dry chokes, cracks and sores
appear which causes contamination.
Twisting causes damages to the teat
tissue which leads to udder
infection.
So dry hand milking should be practiced to avoid contamination of
milk.
Recommendations for Clean Milk Production
-
The animal
should be washed before milking.
-
Teat dipping
should be performed before milking
-
Hands of the milker should be clean
and dry. Wet hand milking may
result in high bacterial count in the milk.
-
Nails of
hands of the milker should be well trimmed.
-
Milker should be free from diseases.
-
Dusty feed like rice polish should
not be fed to the animal at the time of
milking.
-
Milking barns
should be well ventilated and free from flies.
-
Utensils used for milking should be
clean, stanitized, smooth and copper
free.
-
Flavour producing feeds should be fed only after milking so that flavours will not appear in milk.
-
The hind legs and the switch of
the animal should be tightened with the help of a milk man’s
rope at the time of milking.
-
Milk should
be kept in cool place to maintain the flavour and keeping
quality.
-
Milk should be covered with lids
to avoid dust dirt, hot, or cold, day light or strong
artificial light to decrease milk quality. Raw milk with not exceeding 2,00,000 specific count in
one ml of milk
can be graded as very good raw milk.
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