Influence of milking conditions on the hygienic quality of milk

The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of elementary hygienic procedures used in the course of milking, and the influence of cows' health on the hygienic quality of raw milk, The studies were carried out in 1993-1996 on two cow farms - A and B. In the farm A strict washing and disinfection of udders, milking equipment and the hands of milkers were practiced, In farm B these procedures were neglected or used to a limited degree, In milk samples the total bacterial content (TBC), number of somatic cells and inhibitory residues were determined, It was found that in the farm A 76-92% samples of milk contained up to 100 000 cfu/1 mi, In this group the TBC did not usually exceed 50 000 cfu/ml. In farm B only 23-29% samples had up to 100 000 cfu/ml and 14-21% samples contained 50 000 cfu/ml. A higher percentage of milk from farm A came from healthy cows than that from farm B, The number of somatic cells below 500 000/ml was found in 70-78% samples of milk from farm A (usually the samples contained up to 400 000 cells), In farm B only 50% samples of milk had up to 500 000 cells/ml. Other samples contained a higher number of somatic cells and came from cows with mastitis, Inhibitory residues were determined in 0.6-2.0% samples taken from farm A, and in 4.0-12.2% from farm B, The findings indicate that the first stage of improvement of hygienic quality of raw milk should be an improvement of hygienic practices in milking, Any neglect in this field also unfavourably influences the health of cows.