Ana Paula Pavão Battaglini

Acid-base balance of dairy cows and its relationship with alcoholic stability and mineral composition of milk

This study aimed to associate the occurrence of acid-base disorders with the alcoholic stability of milk from animals in the field, and to evaluate differences between the mineral composition of milk that was both stable and unstable in alcohol. The sample comprised 96 dairy cows, where the milk and blood of each corresponding animal was collected. The mineral composition of stable and unstable milk in alcohol was different and may be related to acid-base disturbances. The average amount of phosphate was lower in the milk that was unstable in alcohol, while potassium was greater. Frequency of the alcoholically unstable milk cases was higher in the cows with acid-base disturbances. Respiratory alkalosis was the disorder that was most observed.

Difusão de boas práticas e caracterização de propriedades leiteiras

The aim was to characterize the dairy production of Parana state central region, Brazil, and also evaluate the good manufacturing practices training program to improve the microbiologic quality of milk. Small milk farms were the most common found, manual milking process and low level of technification. Milks TBC averages were compared before and after the training program, with signi-ficant drop (p<0.05) of about 60 %. When milks TBC averages of the farmers that received the training program were compared with the farmers that did not received it, a difference was also observed (p<0.05).

Aspectos sanitários e desafios tecnológicos da microfiltração de leite integral a baixas temperaturas

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of whole milk microfiltration at low temperatures on bacterial counts and on its shelf life. The microfiltration process was evaluated at two temperatures (30 and 50oC) and compared with the slow pasteurization process. Both slow pasteurization and microfiltration reduced the initial counts of aerobic mesophilic and psychrotrophic bacteria, as well as total coliforms in whole milk. Microfiltration at 50oC was as effective as the pasteurization process, since it reduced the initial count of aerobic mesophilic bacteria in 4.4 log cycles; increased the product’s shelf life, which reached 30 days without exceeding 1,000 CFU mL ‑1 ; and eliminated coliform counts at the temperatures of 35 and 45oC, established by the Brazilian legislation. Microfiltration at 30°C reduced the aerobic mesophilic bacteria counts by 2.2 log cycles; however, Escherichia coli was found in the product, which exhibited a shelf life of less than five days. Therefore, microfiltration at 30oC can be associated with thermal treatments, but, when applied alone, it shows unsatisfactory results.