Milk Quality

Question 1

What is the course of milk from the teat to the cup?

Answer 1

Teat end, inflation, bowl, long milk tube, milk line, receiver jar, milk sock, bulk tank, milk hose, milk truck, milk silo, processing equipment, product truck, store, home refrigerator, cup.

Question 2

What is the milk sock?

Answer 2

Filters the milk before the bulk tank
Regular inspection, udder preparation and mastitis detection

Question 3

What is the composition of milk?

Answer 3

Butter fat
SNF- solids non fat (protein, carbohydrates, mineral)
Water (87%)
Colostrum
Transitional milk

Question 4

How much fat is in whole milk? 1%? 2%?

Answer 4

3.25% in whole
2% in 2%
1% in 1%

Question 5

What causes milk to taste like “cow barns”?

Answer 5

Poor ventilation
Improperly cleaned milking equipment

Question 6

What causes milk to taste rancid?

Answer 6

Excessive milk agitation
Proteolytic and lipolytic enzymes present in raw milk

Question 7

What causes foreign flavors of milk?

Answer 7

Fly sprays, medications

Question 8

What are the parameters for Grade A milk?

Answer 8

-No objectionable odors
-Bacterial count < 100,000 cells/ml
-No drug residues
-SCC < 750,000 cells/ml
-Bulk tank temp. of 40 or less w/in 2 hours of milking and remain at or below this temp during storage

Question 9

What are the parameters for the standard plate count?

Answer 9

performed monthly; 100,000/ml legal maximum

Question 10

What is the preliminary Incubation Count (PI Count)

Answer 10

-Shelf life estimator
-Relate to sanitary conditions on the farm
-Incubated for 18 hours at 55 degrees F
-100,000 cell/ml; goal is 20,000 or less

Question 11

What are important features of thermoduric bacteria?

Answer 11

Common in raw milk
Survive through pasteurization (Lactobacilli, Enterococci)

Question 12

What are important features of Psychotropic bacteria?

Answer 12

-Grow in cold temps
-Do NOT survive pasteurization
-Produce off flavors, but enzymes are not inactivated by pasteurization

Question 13

What is an important feature of spore forming bacteria?

Answer 13

Survive pasteurization

Question 14

What are the zoonotic bacteria/diseases that are killed in pasteurization of milk?

Answer 14

Brucella
Campylobacter
Coxiella
E. coli O157:H7
Listeria
Q Fever
Salmonella
Tuberculosis

Question 15

What are sources of bacteria?

Answer 15

Cow cleanliness
Milking practices
Cleaning of milk equipment and bulk tank
Bulk tank

Question 16

How do we improve cow cleanliness?

Answer 16

Housing
Clipping and singeing hair

Question 17

How can we improve milking practices?

Answer 17

Clean teats (pre-dip)
Drying off teats

Question 18

How do we improve cleanliness of milking equipment and bulk tanks?

Answer 18

-Alkaline/organic cleaners for soil
-Acids for milk stone (thermoduric bacteria)
-Pre-milking sanitizer

Question 19

What are the requirements and preventive measures for managing the bulk tank?

Answer 19

Cool to 40 degrees F (coliforms)
Mechanical temperature recordings
In-line coolers
Agitators

Question 20

What is the purpose of pasteurization?

Answer 20

Frees milk of pathogens

Question 21

How do we know if pasteurization worked?

Answer 21

Run alkaline phosphate test
Pasteurization inactivates alkaline phosphatase enzyme

Question 22

What is the big pathogen that pasteurization kills?

Answer 22

Coxiella burnetti (Q fever)

Question 23

What are the three temperatures and times you can pasteurize milk at?

Answer 23

145 degrees for 30 min
161 degrees for 15 sec
280 degrees for 2 sec (boxed milk, sterile)

Question 24

Somatic cell counts are indication for what?

Answer 24

Indication of infection

Question 25

What are the parameters for SCCs?

Answer 25

150,000 = no infection
150-500,000 = possible infection
500,000 = plus probable infection
MAX NUMBER: 750,000

Question 26

Every milk truck is checked for:

Answer 26

Beta lactams
Bacteriologic/immunologic tests

Question 27

What is the limit for drug and chemical residues?

Answer 27

Zero tolerance vs. tolerance levels

Question 28

What are the fines for detecting residues?

Answer 28

Dump the entire truck of milk