The suitability of microbiological dipslides and tests of general hygiene for examining cleanability of steel structures for use in cattle barns was investigated in a laboratory study. Steel is a commonly used material in barn equipment such as milk tanks and sinks. The cleanness of the steel was examined after soiling with seven typical cattle barn soils (four feeds, litter, manure and milk) and after cleaning with different detection methods including various microbiological dipslide types, protein tests, a glucose and lactose test and an ATP (adenosine triphosphate) bioluminescence method. The results were collected in a database and ranked into cleanliness classes. On surfaces, microbes were detected in the case of all other soils than milk, whereas sugars were detected only on surfaces after contamination with two of the feeds. Protein tests gave a response to all other soils than litter, and ATP was observed on all the surfaces. The clearest correlation was observed between the results of the three protein tests (r values ranging from 0.62 to 0.89, p<0.001). No correlations were observed between the results of aerobic microbes, protein tests and the ATP bioluminescence (r values ranged from 0.09 up to 0.47, p<0.001). The results of the study will help to select suitable hygiene monitoring methods for cattle barn environments.
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