1 The milk house is the final on-farm site of quality
control in the
milk production process. One could consider the
kitchen as a milk house
for the very small herd owner since this is where
milking equipment is
washed and stored and where milk is cooled and stored
until used.
Regulations governing such a milk and equipment
handling area are
determined solely by the herd and home owner. However,
the person
producing milk for sale to the public requires more
space and equipment
than can be available in a kitchen. Further, milk
houses, cooling
systems and cleaning and sanitizing of milk handling
equipment comes
under the watchful eye of the dairy sanitarian and
specific features
must meet rigid inspection standards in order to
legally sell milk
publicly.
2 The United States Department of Health, Education,
and Welfare
publishes a handbook titled. ''Grade A Pasteurized
Milk Ordinance''
which covers all aspects of milk production. The same
rules apply to
milk production from both dairy goats and dairy cows.
Consultation with
a dairy sanitarian will identify those essential
building, milk
handling and equipment handling needs that must be
part of a milk
production program. If desirable, a copy of the Milk
Ordinance may be
obtained by writing to Superintendent of Documents,
Washington, DC
20402. There is a charge for the publication.
3 Milk House Construction and Facilities
The milk house should be used for no other purpose
than milk house
operations and should have no direct opening into any
barn, stable, or
room used to house animals. The exception is that some
states may
permit a direct opening so long as a tight fitting,
self closing, solid
door is provided.
4 The size of the milk house is dependent on size of
operation and
amount of equipment. Installed equipment should be
readily accessible
to the operator. A sanitarian can guide the herd owner
to appropriate
measurements. Generally, isles should be at least 30
inches wide with
extra work area, if necessary, to permit disassembly,
inspection and
servicing of equipment. The floor must be smooth and
made of impervious
material, usually concrete, and graded to drain sites.
Drains should
not be located under bulk tanks or under the outlet of
a bulk tank.
Walls and ceilings must be constructed of smooth
material, well
painted, maintained and in good repair. This suggests
that with water
in constant use, a good epoxy painted concrete block
wall or glazed
tile wall surface plus some of the plastic coated
ceiling materials are
good surfaces to resist water penetration and to clean
easily.
5 Window space equal to 4 square feet per 60 square
feet of floor
space must be provided or electric lights sufficient
to offer a minimum
of 20 foot candles of illumination. A combination of
light source is
most desirable to provide for night lighting. Windows
also offer a
source of ventilation. If possible, locate the windows
so as to provide
cross ventilation. Screens on windows and doors are
essential to
protect against flies and other insects.
6 Ventilation by mechanical means is desirable and
sometimes
necessary. Constantly wet conditions may sponsor mold
and algae growth
on floors and walls and encourage bacterial odors to
develop.
Ventilation assists in drying the surfaces plus moving
fresh air
through a milk house to keep musty or foul air to a
minimum. Milk
houses may have permanently closed windows, such as
glass block and
mechanical ventilation in such instances becomes
critical. Fan size
capable of moving 15 to 20 cubic feet of air per
minute may be
adequate.
7 Masonry construction offers little protection from
cold and will
benefit from insulation, especially in prolonged cold
spells to prevent
freezing of water on floors and walls. With the vast
amount of water
needed and with pipes, sinks, drains to protect from
freezing it becomes
economical to consider insulating the ceiling, walls
and floor.
8 Equipment
Milk should be handled only in materials that are
non-toxic and
readily cleanable. These materials are glass,
stainless steel, certain
approved plastics and rubber or rubber-like materials
designed for
milk handling. Do not use materials such as aluminum
or copper bearing
metals for handling milk. Containers having tinned
surfaces must be
free of dents, pits, open seams and any evidence of
rust spots. Such
areas harbor bacteria and may lead to such defects as
oxidized flavors.
9 The wash and rinse sink should have two compartments
with each
compartment big enough to hold the largest piece of
equipment to be
washed. Sanitizing can be done in the sink just prior
to milking.
10 Storage racks or tables for utensils and cans must
be available and
permit air movement and rapid, thorough drying of all
equipment
following washing and rinsing. Bacteria growth on
surfaces is reduced
greatly if the surface is dry.
11 A separate sink should be available for washing
hands of the
milkers.
12 Cool Milk Quickly
Milk should be cooled quickly and held to under 40F.
The most
satisfactory equipment for cooling is the stainless
steel farm bulk
tank. The tank should be sized to hold 5 milkings.
Milk should be
stored for not longer than 48 hours. The 5th milking
capacity is
suggested in case of emergency.
13 The size of the refrigeration unit should be based
upon the rate at
which milk enters the tank. The BTU (British Thermal
Unit) removal rate
should be 90 to 100BTU loading rate. There are 50
BTU's per pound of
milk to be removed, Thus, if 300 pounds of milk are
put into the tank
in one hour, a refrigeration unit rated between 13,500
and 15,000 BTU
per hour should be utilized.
14 Cooling milk from small herds can present problems.
Simply placing
milk in a container into a refrigerator is not
satisfactory. The milk
will not cool rapidly enough by this air cooling
method. Containers
may be placed in circulating ice water to obtain
satisfactory cooling
results.
15 Containers
Milk should be placed in clean sanitized containers
specifically
designed for milk. Store in a refrigerated space under
40F and keep out
of the light. Milk is a perishable food. Keep it
clean, cold and
covered.
16 Water Source
This must be from a supply properly located and
protected and be of
adequate quantity and of a safe and sanitary quality.
The water supply
is periodically tested to make sure it remains
uncontaminated.
17 It becomes obvious that a water supply adequate for
a small, hand
milking operation may fall far short of needs when
milking machines or
pipeline milkers and cleaned-in-place systems are
installed. The dairy
sanitarian can be of help in evaluating total needs.
Good brushes, proper water temperature and the right
cleaning
materials reduce the effort and increase effectiveness
in cleaning and
sanitizing milk equipment. On many farms, regardless
of size of herd,
milking machines, pails and strainers are washed by
hand.
19 Bacteria need three conditions for support of
growth -- soil
(food), moisture and proper temperature. Proper
cleaning and sanitizing
followed by rapid drying removes these conditions and
helps keep
bacteria counts low.
20 Adequate supplies of hot and cold water are
essential. If the water
is soft it makes the cleaning job easy. Most water
supplies are hard,
necessitating installation of a water softener or the
use of cleaners
manufactured especially for use in hard water.
21 Many cleaners are made for use in soft water and
when used in hard
water produce whitish residues when the equipment
dries. This is called
waterstone and milk solids cling to it making cleaning
progressively
more difficult. Equipment that is difficult to clean
frequently is
poorly cleaned and high bacteria counts usually
result.
22 A protein film may appear if the cleaning solution
is too weak or
the wash temperature too low. It first appears as a
bluish
discoloration on equipment surfaces.
23 In manual cleaning, a sanitizer as well as a
cleaner is needed.
Some cleaners, such as quarternary detergent
sanitizers and iodine
detergent sanitizers, have a sanitizer built in. This
does not mean
that the final cleaning step of sanitizing before use
of equipment can
be omitted.
24 There are two types of cleaners. Alkaline cleaners
are preferred
because of their ability to remove milk-protein soil
and butterfat
particles from the equipment. Acid cleaners function
by softening
water and usually include wetting agents which
emulsify and remove
fatty deposits if the water temperature is correct.
25 In any case, follow instructions printed on
containers of cleaners
and sanitizers. The following general procedure may be
used with many
cleaners:
1. Rinse equipment thoroughly with water 100F to 120F
immediately
following milking. Water too hot sets the milk film;
water too
cool does not remove the fat.
2. Prepare a wash solution with water at 120F to 130F.
Use a
cleaner compatable with the water supply. Use a
thermometer and be
sure water temperature doesn't drop below 100F.
3. Disassemble and soak all parts and equipment in
wash solution for
a few minutes.
4. Wash thoroughly using a good brush.
5. Rinse with clear, clean water. Use an acidified
rinse if the
water is hard (1 oz acid cleaner to 6 gal water).
6. Place all equipment on racks to insure rapid
drying.
7. Sanitize all equipment just before milking with a
chlorine,
iodophor or quarternary ammonium sanitizer. Drain but
do not rinse
sanitizing solution from equipment.
26 CIP cleaners (cleaned-in-place) are for use with
circulating
cleaning systems. These cleaners are chlorinated
alkaline with low
foaming characteristics. These wash solutions have a
pH of about 11.0
so they must be used with some degree of caution.
27 Make sure that there is plenty of hot water
available for use in
cleaning. Cleaning compounds are ineffective in cool
water. Manual
cleaners are used at about 110-120 F while CIP
cleaners are best used
at a range of 105-110 F. The solution should be a
minimum of 100 F when
the wash cycle is completed.
28 There are no shortcuts to producing and protecting
quality milk.
Regulations and recommendations are aimed at getting
the job done within
practical and achievable building, milk handling and
management
routines. The concerned producer will weigh the
options carefully and
thoroughly.
