Milking hygiene: new issues and opportunities from automatic milking

• Main Authors: Lotte Bach Larsen, Morten Dam Rasmussen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2010-01-01
• Series: Italian Journal of Animal Science
• Subjects: Dairy cows, Automatic milking, Mastitis, Hygiene, HACCP
• Online Access: http://www.aspajournal.it/index.php/ijas/article/view/183

Automatic milking offers the opportunity of in-line measurements of milk components, check of milking and cleaning procedures,<br />and surveillance through the management program. These advantages may directly benefit the milk quality.<br />Diversion of abnormal milk at time of milking is critical to the milk quality. It is proposed to define abnormal milk as milk<br />being visibly changed in homogeneity or colour from that of normal milk. Several enzymes and other milk components<br />may be involved in the formation of clots in the milk. Based on reported changes in primarily the milk protein fraction as<br />a response to infection of the mammary gland, different explanations for the generation of precipitates in mastitis milk<br />are discussed. Automatic milking systems (AMS) should have sensors to monitor and divert abnormal milk. The management<br />system of AMS provides an excellent opportunity to introduce Hazard Analyses Critical Control Points (HACCP)<br />systems for surveying the milk quality. HACCP-based proposals are given for avoiding contamination of the bulk milk with<br />milk from cows with clinical mastitis and for ensuring a low bulk milk bacterial count.