Tedd Wittenbrink

While having one of your cultured products being criticized as lacking cultured flavor is not desirable, those of us who produce cultured dairy products have an even greater fear. 

The topic is especially important for Grade A milk plants under the Federal Milk Market Order.

Preventing spoilage organisms in raw milk by following dairy industry standards.

A few weeks ago, I poured milk on my cereal, and when I took my first bite, I realized that something was wrong. I went back and tasted the milk and found a distinct off-flavor and odor in the milk itself.

Poor sanitation equals unhappy customers and loss of sales.

All dairy operations do some quality testing. Some might just do the very basics — e.g., butterfat testing and antibiotic testing — while others have large laboratories with the capability of conducting a multitude of tests.  

A year ago, we were not concerned about sanitizing everything we touch. COVID-19 has since changed the world. The emphasis is on social distancing, hand washing, and cleaning and sanitizing any type of potential contact surface.

In 2017, there were more than 400 food recalls in the United States. Undeclared allergens and/or improper labeling led the charge as the primary source. Pathogenic organisms from Listeria Monocytogenes and Salmonella and foreign materials came in second and third, respectively.