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Item 10r

UTENSILS AND EQUIPMENT-CLEANING

REQUIREMENT: The product contact surfaces of all multi-use containers,
equipment and utensils used in the handling, storage or transportation of milk
shall be cleaned after each usage.

Public Health Reason: Milk cannot be kept clean or free of contamination if
permitted to come into contact with unclean containers, utensils or
equipment.

Inspectional areas of emphasis or special problem areas may be:

1. Generally, the farm inspector should evaluate milk contact surfaces during
non-milking time inspections. These evaluations should be keyed in areas
where cleaning problems will be readily visible.

2. Some of these key areas to evaluate for cleanliness might be the bulk tank,
bulk tank agitator paddle, milk tank inlets such as measuring stick or inlet pipe
openings, bulk tank outlet valve, the milk receiver, a representative number of
inflations, the milk lines, the milk inlets of the milk lines, the bulk tank "swing
line", the weigh jar probes, etc.

3. Even the sanitary trap and line attaching it to the milk receiver is classified
officially as milk contact surfaces and should be inspected regularly for any
cleaning problems.

4. A milk contact surface that is not clean is one of the most significant sources
of microbial growth and the subsequent contamination of milk. Residues will
promote the growth of microorganisms which will grossly contaminate
succeeding portions of milk. A small residue on any milk contact surface will
promote bacterial growth and deposit or "seed" the milk supply with undesir-
able microbes. It is very important that the milk contact surfaces be cleaned
immediately after each usage to remove all milk residues, and subsequently,
all nutrients which bacteria need for growth. Thus, the importance of clean
equipment is required to prevent the contamination of milk with
microorganisms, some of which may be pathogenic.

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