Risk factors affecting chemical and bacteriological quality of bulk tank milk in Kerman, Iran

Milk is often described as a complete food because it contains protein, sugar, fat, vitamins, and minerals. This study was performed to investigate risk factors affecting chemical and bacteriological quality of bulk tank milk. According to the following conducted experiments, the milk was divided into two standard and non-standard groups. Then, effect of risk factors on making the samples non-standard was studied. Risk factors such as type of milk delivery unit, distance of cattle farm from plant, size of herd, education level of stockbreeders, capacity of milk transport tank, capacity of cooler device, and number of workers employed in cattle farms were evaluated in this study. Microbial and chemical evaluations were performed. Beta-lactam antibiotic residues and somatic cell count were specified. At the same time, the stockbreeders who referred to the plant were given some questionnaires and the mentioned primary questions were asked. After collecting the data, logistic regression model was used. According to the obtained results and comparison with Iran’s national standard, 26 out of 109 samples were determined to be at standard level and 83 ones had at least one out-of-standard factor. The results obtained from the model demonstrated significant effect of education of stockbreeders and capacity of cooler devices on the milk quality. Education of stockbreeders could greatly affect management of a cattle farm unit.