Effectiveness of selected premilking teat-cleaning regimes in
reducing teat microbial load on commercial dairy farms Bacterial
levels throughout the food production chain affect the safety
and quality of pasteurized milk. Premilking teat-cleaning
regimes reduce the microbial load, thereby reducing the
potential contamination of milk destined for human consumption.
Teat cleaning also contributes to the prevention of mastitis. A
premilking teat-cleaning regime involving a chlorine wash and
dry regime was the most effective in reducing teat microbial
load. Year of Publication2008 Aims: To determine the
effectiveness of premilking teat-cleaning regimes in reducing
the teat microbial load and effect on milk quality. Methods and
Results: The effectiveness of several premilking teat-cleaning
regimes in reducing teat microbial load was assessed using 40
cows on each of the four commercial UK dairy farms with
herringbone parlours during two sampling periods. In the first
experiment, all the treatments reduced teat tot