DIFFERENT STRATEGIES FOR

DAIRY FARM HYGIENE.

 Hygiene is a set of practices performed to
preserve health. According to the World Health
Organization (WHO),Hygiene refers to
conditions and practices that help to
maintain health and prevent the spread of
diseases.
Health is basically, a feature of the dairy
production process quality.
 The EU Food hygiene legislation, which came
into effect on 1 January 2006, set out more
clearly the duty of food businesses to produce
food safely and to achieve consistency.
It covers the whole food chain from farm to
fork.
Key elements of the dairy hygiene legislation
are those relating to the health and cleanliness
of the animals for CLEAN MILK
PRODUCTION.
 WHY..???????...

In all dairy operations, small or large, animal

health care represents a major component, next to
genetics, feeding and management quality.

Firstly, because healthy animals can produce milk

more efficiently and healthy calves can grow in a
more optimal way.
 Secondly, because healthy animals will show a
better feed intake pattern throughout lactation
as well as a better fertility performance.
Thirdly, because healthy animals will show
less welfare problems throughout their life,
hence, improving herd longevity .
Fourthly, because animal health status can
have a large impact on public health and food
safety issues.
 NEED FOR PRODUCING CLEAN
MILK…
• The need for quality begins at the farm
where milk is produced. If milk is not
produced hygienically it can affect the
health of many people.
• Besides being a health hazard,
contamination of milk can lead to huge
economical losses.
 CONCEPT OF CMP

• ‘Clean Milk’ is defined as milk drawn from

the udder of healthy animals, which is
collected in clean dry milking pails and free
from extraneous matters like dust, dirt, flies,
hay, manure etc.
• Clean milk has a normal composition,
possesses a natural milk flavour with low
bacterial count and is safe for human
consumption (Sinha, 2000)
• Have a high keeping quality, high commercial
value, can be transported over long distances
& is a high quality base product for
processing, resulting in high quality products.
 FACTORS AFFECTING CMP
• Milk – source of protein and calcium.
• Milk – most easily perishable and
contaminated commodity.
• Milk should be stored/chilled immediately
after milking.
• Hygienic practice from farm to factory .
MEASURES OF CMP
 Poor sanitation

Poor storage Improper

High Bacterial Count
Handling

Infection/Diseases

Causes of high bacterial load in milk

The following measures should be taken
care for the production of clean milk:

1. Animal Management at farm level.

2.Cleanliness of Milking equipments.
3. Hygienic milking practices .
ANIMAL MANAGEMENT

• Milk from healthy udder is relatively free

from harmful bacteria.
• High bacterial count reduces the keeping
quality of milk.
• Animal management involves the housing,
feeding and health .
 HOUSING

• Animal shed - main source of contamination

• Protects animals against micro-organisms, people,
wind, rain, heat etc.
• Mud, urine, faeces and feed residues should be
regularly removed from the shed.
• Shed should have proper drainage, sufficient
ventilation and lighting.
• In very wet areas, slaked lime can be used for
drying.
• Sufficient water facility should be available for
drinking as well as washing the shed and
animal.
• It should be provided , with windows admitting
daylight.
• The stall air should be always fresh, pure, and
free from dust and dirt. Avoid direct air currents
and dust source in cow shed and milking byres.
• Shed : well-roofed, well ventilated, dry and
comfortable with adequate elevation .
• Appropriate arrangement for disposal of animal
waste (manure pit or biogas plant) and left over
feed & fodder.
• Protection from flies and insect which are
potential sources of contamination.
• Piggery and poultry farming should be avoided
near the animal premises.
• It is equally important to clean the cattle shed
from time to time. The milking area of the
shed needs special hygienic attention. The
floor of the milk shed should be swept with
clean water, and disinfected with one-percent
bleaching powder solution.
 Brooming the cattle shed and removal of
dung and urine from time to time will control
the files which are a major menace and source
of infection.
 Chemical sprays can also be used.It is
recommended to clean (sweep) the cattle shed
minimum 30 minutes ahead of actual milking
so that the flying dust is allowed to settle on
the ground which prevents its entry in milk
vessels.
 The shed should be fitted with fly-proof wire
mesh wherever possible.
 Keep the feed materials having off-flavours
away from the milking area since these
flavours are known to enter milk.It should be
cleaned after every milking.

Livestock should not have access to the shed

during the day. Cleaning of walls, standings,
gutter and other surroundings should be
practiced regularly
 FEEDING

• Balanced feed with appropriate quantities of

green fodder straw and concentrates having
essential nutrients and minerals is important.
• Feed ingredients should be stored in moisture-
free conditions.
• It is better to use the de-oiled ingredients in
cattle feed which will eliminate the risk of
pesticide contamination of milk.
• Feeds which have been contaminated with
aflatoxins, plant toxins, heavy metals and
radioactive metals should be avoided.
• Clean and potable water supply should always
be available. Facilities should be provided for
a sufficient supply of safe and potable water.
• Good quality straw and supply of adequate
minerals and vitamins.
• Feeding should be made one hour before
milking.
• During milking, non-dusty concentrate can be
provided to keep animals busy.
• Silage and wet crop residues should not be fed
at milking place as it may impart foul odour to
the milk.
 ANIMAL HEALTH
• Pre-requisite for CMP – healthy herd
• Routine examination of cattle for diseases like
TB, Brucellosis etc.
• Diseased animals should be kept separate
• Sanitary precautions to prevent and control
diseases should be adopted
• Using inducer drugs should be avoided
• Check for udder wounds and mastitis.
• Vaccination of animals against FMD, Anthrax,
etc. should be done regularly
 HYGIENIC MILKING

• Key factors : Hygienic condition of udder.

• Some organism may enter milk during hand
milking and machine milking.
• In addition, personal hygiene of the worker are
important.
• Hygienic practices during milking contribute
to produce safe and suitable milk.
• Floor sweeping just before milking should be
avoided
• Milker’s Hygiene
Free from communicable diseases
Should wear clean clothes, nails trimmed
Should neither eat or spit anything
• Before milking, milker should clean his hands
with soap, potable water and then wipe with
clean cloth or towel.
UDDER WASHING;
• Washing and cleaning should be done gently
without damaging the orifices and clefts
between the quarters of the udder.
• There should be three buckets of water along
with separate cloths, Plain water, disinfectant
solution, mild detergent solution for final
wash. First wash with plain water and this will
remove dirt particles from the udder. A gentle
detergent solution can be used for removing
persistent dirt.
 Still the dirt persists, wipe it with a wet cloth,
the cloth should be wrung along with the bucket.
 During severe winters, lukewarm water is
preferred and this will also helps in letting down
of milk.The temperature of the warm water
should not be beyond 55C.

Addition of hypochlorite (500ppm i.e. 5 gram

hypochlorite powder in 10 liters of water or half
oz per gallon of water) helps to disinfect the
udder and is used as udder wash.
Quaternary ammonium compounds (200-400
ppm) are better substitutes as many farmers
think that chlorine is irritating to udder.
 More over QAC has less harmful effects on
tissues and organic matter has lesser effects on
its activities or
1% PP lotion.
• Even Dettol and Savlon can be diluted and
used to disinfect udder and teats.
• Soaps, if used for udder washing, may serve
only cleaning purpose as they have no
microbial property required for sanitation.
• After each milking wash and disinfect them
and hang up to dry.
• If udder clothes are used, provide a clean cloth
for each cow. It should be sterilized before
next use.
• Disposable paper towels are preferable and
more effective for drying after washing.The
udder and teats should be wiped with clean
cloth dipped in detergent after milking.
METHOD / MILKING PRACTICE;
• The animal should be milked out completely. No milk
should be left inside after milking. Eliminate fore
milk as it contains high bacterial counts.

• Dry milking should be practiced. Full hand milking

method should be followed as it reduces teat
aberrations and there by chances of mastitis.
Preferably avoid end-of-milking stripping with the
finger and thumb. Rear quarters should be milked
first as they contain most milk and the milking bucket
hooded to reduce contamination from dust and udder
hairs.
• At the end of milking, the teats should be
dipped in disinfectant solution (commonly
iodophore) This method is called teat dipping
and this helps in closure of teat sphincters. Teat
dipping reduces the entry of mastitis germs
and there by mastitis. Milking should be
completed in 6-8 minutes.
• Milking machine can be used in farms having
more than 8 cows.If the herd size exceeds 100,
a separate milk parlour will ensure better
hygiene.

• The animal should be fed after milking so that

the animal naturally keeps standing for a
longer time. If the animal is allowed to sit
immediately after milking, there are good
chances for the mastitis germs to enter the teat
canals before their sphincters close up.
• Ensured that the animals having any disease
should be milked in the end. Milk of diseased
animals and disease suspected animals should
be disposed of separately.
• Milk from the animals receiving antibiotic
treatment should be handled separately for a
period of 72 hours after stoppage of treatment.
 CLEANLINESS OF MILKING
EQUIPMENTS AND UTENSILS
• Milk vessels should be cleaned before and after
each milking – rendering bacteria-free.
• Detergents/chemicals used for cleaning should
be non-injurious, non-toxic to health like
Teepol.
• Use of ash or mud not recommended.
• Cleaned and sanitized vessels should be kept in
inverted position.
• Milking pail - dome shaped top should be used.
• Open buckets should not be used.
• For cleaning the milking bucket and foremilk
(strip) cup, stool and udder washing
equipments and other utensils is best done by
an initial rinse in clean water immediately after
milking, followed by scrubbing in a hot (45°C
or above) detergent/disinfectant solution
before finally rinsing in chlorinated water (50
ppm).
• Another option is after scrubbing the
equipment in hot detergent solution, disinfect
by immersing it in hot (above 75°C) water for
at least 3 minutes.
• The stainless steel lid and rubber gasket,
rubber tubes and a stainless steel teat cup
assembly are loaded into a purpose designed
steel-mesh basket and immersed into a rubber
or mild-steel bin containing a 3-5% caustic
soda solution.
• The equipment remains in the solution until
the next milking. Before use, all traces of
caustic soda solution removed by thorough
rinsing in chlorinated (50 ppm) water. On
monthly intervals the solution is renewed and
ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid (EDTA)
added at the rate of 60gms to 45 liters of
solution to prevent hard water deposits.
• Hard water 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 agents ie water-softening
(eg. polyphosphates) and acids for de-scaling.
• Disinfectants are required to destroy the
bacteria remaining and subsequently
multiplying on the cleaned surfaces. Use only
those which are approved, avoiding
particularly those which can taint milk (eg.
phenolic disinfectants).
• 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.
MILKING PREMISES

• The milking premises should have a dairy or

suitable place equipped with a piped hot and
cold water supply, a wash trough, 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.
 COOLING
• Advantage of producing clean milk is lost if
post milking handling is not carefully done.
• To preserve the keeping quality of milk, it
should be cooled as soon as possible to a temp.
below 5°C in a refrigerator.
• The sooner the milk is cooled after removal,
the better is the quality.
• Bacterial growth is retarded by cooling the
milk within 2 hours of milking.
• Delivery of milk to the factory or consumers
should be as frequent as possible
 ENSURING MILK HYGIENE IN INDIAN
CONDITIONS
EDUCATIONAL PROPAGANDA;
• Proper awareness should be given to the dairy
farmers regarding clean milk production through
personal advice, film shows, demonstrations etc.
By such extension works ,only the producers
knows about the dreadful effects of their
carelessness and unhygienic practices of milk
production on the health issues of people as well
as on their long term economic interests.
• They should be educated properly.
• “Without improving the quality of the raw
material, the quality of the finished product cannot
be improved.”
• A massive awareness programme has been
launched to improve the quality of raw milk.
Trained extension agents conduct awareness
and training programmes for milk producers,
village cooperatives, procurement and other
dairy professionals, members of milk
cooperatives and transporters.
• They should be educated about the importance
of animal health & hygiene, use of potable
water for washing milk vessels, clean stainless
steel utensils, clean hands, hygienic milking
procedures as well as a clean and tidy
environment.
INTRODUCING INCENTIVE PAYMENT PLAN
• Payment for milk is usually based on quality of
milk along with the two axis price system- Fat
and SNF. But, usually less importance is given
to the milk quality. For this, the consumers
should also be willing to pay for quality of
milk and this can be achieved through
consumer education programmes utilizing
mass media and other means.
• We can also achieve this through imposition
of penalty on default, penalty to the societies
on supply of poor quality milk and payment of
higher price to the cooperatives supplying
good quality raw milk.
• Protection of the consumer right for better
quality milk through appropriate legislation is
now become a necessity. The Milk and Milk
Products Order should be strengthened. All
milk vendors should be licensed for ensuring
safe handling of milk and milk products. If
properly enacted, such order will surely go for
a long way towards improving the supply of
quality milk.
WIDESPREADING THE CONCEPT OF ORGANIC
MILK

Organic farm products are the latest concept of

market that fetch good price from the
consumer. Milk is not an exception. Hence, it
will be in the interest of the dairy organizations
to plan their programme to ultimately meet this
demand and this can be only achieved through
clean milk production.
 ESTABLISHMENT OF QUALITY TASK
FORCE
• It is suggested that the dairy organizations
whether cooperative or private, concentrate
their focus on the animal husbandry
practices and milking practices apart from
utmost care at milk collection centers. For
that, the dairy organization should create a
task force to initiate quality improvement
programme.
• The mode of action is that, the task force
should undertake benchmark survey in terms
of standard plate count and spore counts, and
then decide the targets to be achieved in
phased manner.
• This should be followed by awareness
programmes including farmer education and
providing them required materials. Most
quality control laboratories in the dairy plants
are busy with routine testing for fat and SNF .
NEW TECHNOLOGICAL INTERVENTION
AT GRASS ROOT LEVEL

• Food grade stainless steel vessels and

accessories are intoduced. That includes
• SPV System based BMC
• AMCU
• DPIP
 Others………….
• Holding of clean milk competitions.
• Enabling villagers to visit exhibitions.
• Bringing research and extension workers to
villages to study local problems and extend
help for solving these problems in a
participatory way.
 REFERENCES
• Livestock production and management-
N.S.R.Sastry, C.K.Thomas
• Handbook of Animal Husbandry- ICAR
• Milk Hygiene ; WHO
• Elements of Veterinary Public Health –
Shanmugham,Ramasamy.
• Journal of dairy science.
• Journal of Animal science.
• Indian veterinary journal.
• The Food Hygiene Regulations 2006
THANK YOU….