Bulk-tank somatic cell counts (BTSCCs) are measured and monitored from Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMOs) to determine the quality of the milk supply in the U.S. BTSCCs are defined as the number of white blood cells, secretory cells, and squamous cells per milliliter of raw milk. Milk processors monitor BTSCCs in the nation’s milk shipments…
The quality of milk can be negatively impacted by multiple sources of contamination in a dairy processing plant. Previous blogs focused primarily on microbial contamination of raw milk caused by various bacteria. For products such as cheese and yogurt, starter culture bacteria play a positive and essential role. However, the fermentation function of starter cultures can be threatened by another microbial contamination, bacteriophages, or phages as…
Water system testing for microorganisms in a brewery is a regular part of the process at Cold Spring Brewing Company (CSBC). It has been the hallmark of this iconic brewery for well over a century and shows its total commitment to quality. A brief history of CSBC CSBC is located in Cold Spring, Minnesota. It…
Somatic Cell Counts (SCC) is not just a scientific term of academic interest, it has real-world implications for every dairy farmer. Simply put, lowering SCC leads to increased profits. That’s not just us saying so, we recently ran across this article, Somatic Cell Count Impacts Everything by Mike Lormore, DVM, MS, MBA, Director Cattle Technical…
Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD) can have a devastating impact on dairy herds. Management of the disease requires a comprehensive program of vaccinations and monitoring. Persistent infection (PI) carriers of the Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV) can pose a real and ongoing threat to overall herd health. The Cornell Animal Health Diagnostic Center’s website indicates that…
Bacteria in pasteurized milk is the leading cause of spoilage and reducing shelf-life. Refer to my earlier posts, How Bacterial Generation Times Impact Fluid Milk Quality and Shelf-life and Heat-Resistant Psychrotrophic Bacteria and Their Effect on the Quality of Pasteurized Milk. In those posts, I discussed the collective efforts of the dairy industry and regulatory…
Aseptic and representative sampling for dairy farms is a big topic. This post is the second part of an in-depth conversation I had with Denise Sutton, our DFA Farm Supplies partner’s Sales Manager. Denise’s extensive experience in the dairy farm industry ranges from being a herd manager and running a dairy farm, being a trusted…
Bacterial generation times—the period it takes for bacteria to double in population—have a significant impact on the quality of fluid milk and its shelf life regardless of the source of microbial contamination. While many factors can lower the quality of fluid milk and reduce shelf life, the most significant is microbial spoilage, making it essential to…
How does representative sampling solve two crucial problems for dairy farmers? Recently, I had the opportunity to have an in-depth conversation with Denise Sutton, Large Farm Sales Manager at DFA Farm Supplies. She has extensive experience in the dairy farm industry, including being a herd manager and running a dairy farm. Denise is also a…
An aseptic sampling system is critical for the quality control process in the liquid food industry. One of QualiTru’s customers in the yeast-fermented beverage business (Brewery) had a specific problem they were facing. Customer problem: Inconsistent results from quality samples Of course, our team took on the challenge of solving the vexing problem of inconsistent…
Founded in 1983, QualiTru Sampling Systems (formerly known as QMI) is the trusted partner that delivers accurate, in-process aseptic, representative, sanitary, and hygienic sampling solutions for the dairy, beverage, and liquid food industries. Read more…
