Some key points in achieving a TBC of below 10,000cfu/ml are:

• having cow’s environment clean
• having clean cows presented for milking
• having a good washing system in place for cleaning the milking machine and bulk tank
• having adequate volumes of water for rinsing and cleaning the plant (14 litres/unit for rinsing and 9 litres/unit for main wash)
• using plenty of hot water (75 – 80⁰C) for washing milking equipment
• correctly using detergents (read the labels and instructions)
• before starting every milking, the milker should check that the previous machine wash/rinse cycle has been completed correctly
• disinfecting the plant with peracetic acid as an additional rinse
• ensuring that milk is cooled down below 4⁰C within 30mins of the finish of milking.