Effect of hygiene-sanitary management on goat milk quality in semi-extensive systems in Spain

Milk samples were collected from 28 farms, at monthly intervals during the production period (December to September). At the same time, each farmer was surveyed about specific conditions of hygiene-sanitary management at the farm. When management improvements were made, there was improvement (P < 0.05) in both bacteria count (165,000 bacteria/ml versus 379,000 bacteria/ml in the samples taken from the tank) and somatic cell count (SCC; 1,564,000 cells/ml versus 2,354,000 cells/ml). A source (P < 0.001) of microbial milk contamination was its handling in the time from leaving the udder (65,000 bacteria/ml) until reaching the refrigeration farm tank (in the case of machine-milking, with 362,000 bacteria/ml) or the bulk tank of the cooperative (in the case of hand-milking, with 262,000 bacteria/ml). The two study areas, characterized by the milking method, presented differences (P <0.001) in bacteria count and SCC (2,534,000 cells/ml with machine-milking versus 1,785,000 cells/ml with hand-milking). Farms with fewer animals (<100 animals) that practised hand-milking had a better hygiene-sanitary quality. Month also affected SCC, with concentration lowest in December and March (1,510,000 cells/ml), and highest in August and September (3,379,000 cells/ml). This was also part of the change in SCC with stage of lactation, increasing towards its end. SCC showed a positive correlation (P <0.01) with % fat (r = 0.21) and % protein (r = 0.49). No correlation was observed between the number of bacteria and SCC. It is concluded that the establishment of appropriate conditions of hygiene-sanitary management on the farms improved the bacteriological quality and enabled SCC to fall below recommended limits. © 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.