Whether you're testing milk from an individual animal or a bulk tank, unlike other microbial tests, Delvotest® T ampoules are robustly designed to test both🔗. The challenge however is getting samples that properly represent the milk being tested. In this article, we explore some best practices and tips.
Individual Animals
Whenever an individual animal is treated with antibiotics, the prescribed drug(s) should come with specific advice on the correct withdrawal time to follow before the animal's milk is supposed to be free of unsafe levels of antibiotic residues. As withdrawal time is about how long it takes for antibiotic residues to 'leave' an animal's body, it typically presumes that normal milking should be done during treatment, as this is part of the natural 'exit routes' for these residues. So, first and foremost, it's very important to always follow the advised withdrawal time in full, and, where appropriate, carry out milking as normal during this time to ensure unsafe levels of antibiotic residues are given a chance to leave the animal's body.
Now, here's the challenge: you've followed withdrawal time, where appropriate carrying out milking as normal during this time, and, because you TETA ('Test Every Treated Animal')🔗 // add link //, you've decided to test this animal's milk. Great! But how do you safely collect a sample that properly represents the animal's milk you're about to test? Simple: just follow these five steps.
Step 1
It's very important to work in hygienic conditions to avoid contamination—and it's as equally important to make sure contamination does not come from your cleaning materials. So make sure not to use any disinfectants and/or cleaning agents, as they themselves can contaminate your sample for microbiological inhibition analysis tests like Delvotest®. Wherever possible, we advise working with // need to add general recommendations //
Step 2
Get a container that can hold a full milking from this animal.
🐄 For cows, a c. 30~40 litre tank is typical.
🐐🐑 For goats and sheep, that's usually much lower, c. 2~3 litres.
Step 3
Using all teats, fully milk the animal. It's very important to not only milk from one or some teats, as this // need to think of a proper way of phrasing the reason about representation here in an easy to understand way for farmers //
Step 4
Mix the milk gently in the container, avoiding creating foam. This will help homogenise it, making sure the sample you'll be collecting is an accurate representation of the mix of things that are in it—like, potentially, antibiotic residues.
Step 5
Most likely, your Delvotest® set up might be in a different, more hygienic, controlled location in your farm from where you collected the milking. If this is the case, especially as carrying around a full 30~40 litre tank from a cow's milking can be inconvenient, take an intermediary sample into a smaller container (like a cup, mug or vial) using an appropriate sampling tool. We do not recommend unhygienically 'submerging' this smaller container directly in the tank.
That's it, simple! By following the principles reflected in these steps you'll reduce costly risks from contamination and unrepresentative sampling in your efforts to TETA🔗 // add link //.
Bulk Tanks
Though not always possible or easy to set up, farms that truly excel in effectively addressing the costly risks of having a bulk tank rejected because of unsafe levels of antibiotic residue TEST ('Test Every Sold Tank')🔗 // add link //. Usually this requires some planning ahead or rescheduling of either milking schedules and/or truck pick-up arrival times, as microbiological tests like Delvotest® can take up to 3~4 hours to produce results. But farms that don't take the risk and test know the value this precious check has as a last opportunity from stopping a bad situation from becoming much, much worse. So, how do you safely collect a sample that properly represents the bulk tank's milk you're about to test? Simple: just follow these X // tighten no. // steps.
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That's it, also very simple! By following the principles reflected in these steps you'll reduce costly risks from contamination and unrepresentative sampling in your efforts to TEST🔗 // add link //.
Next Steps
Are you new to Delvotest® or simply looking for tips on how to get the most out of our products? Now that you know more about best practices for collecting milk for testing, you might want to read next about best practices for running a test—from properly acclimatising ampoules your Delvotest® T ampoules, to reading at Control Time, and more.
⏭️ Next article: Best Practices // Running a test🔗
💬 Got any questions? Need help? Contact us at support@delvotest.com