Observations on the Value of a Swab Technique for Determining the Bacteriological State of Milking Equipment Surfaces

摘要

The reproducibility and efficacy of a swab technique for milking equipment in normal use was studied. Reproducibility was satisfactory when swabbing was done by trained personnel. It was confirmed that swabs pick up only a proportion of the microorganisms present on a surface; this proportion varies with the consistency of the contaminating material, but not with the type of surface on which it occurs. It is concluded that swabs allow the estimation of the maximum ability of a surface to contaminate the milk.Rigid smooth surfaces of the milking machine are recontaminated by microorganisms originating from joints and complex parts of the machine during rinsing after cleaning. A procedure to evaluate the efficacy of cleaning these surfaces is proposed.