From the farm to your table…
On the farm a dairy cow is milked with the kneading like motions of a milking machine. When finished, a sensor automatically disengages the machine and the cow makes her way back outside into the pasture. As they wait for their next milking the cows dine on a nutrient-filled diet of natural grains and vitamins.
The cow’s milk is then sent through a chiller that cools the milk to below 40°F. Tests are run to make sure it is free of bacteria. Big tankers, holding 6,000 gallons of milk take the milk to a processing plant like Hunter Farms. When the milk arrives at Hunter Farms, the receiver checks the temperature and the wash ticket that verifies the last time the tanker has
been cleaned.
When the tanker pulls up the lab takes 2 raw milk samples for testing. One sample is tasted and then another is tested for bacteria and antibiotics. If it tests positive for either one the milk is sent back. If everything passes the tanker hooks up to a raw milk silo and pumps milk at a speed of over 170 gallons a minute. It takes about 20 minutes to unload the entire tanker and then the tanker is washed, sanitized and issued a new wash ticket.
The milk then goes from the raw milk silo to the High Temperature Short Time (HTST) unit where it is pasteurized, homogenized, and butter fat adjusted. The HTST unit heats the milk to 178°F for 26 seconds and then cools the milk to 34°F for bottling.
The next scene is a labyrinth of cartons being filled with the pure, white liquid. The first three gallons off the line are taken to the lab for final verification before they are bound for a store.
The lab then takes the first sample and verifies the proper weight, tastes the product, and double checks the packaging and expiration date. At the end of the day, the second sample of milk is tested for bacteria and then incubated for 24 hours at room temperature to be tested again the next day. The third sample is kept at 45 F and tasted for shelf life at the end of 22 days.
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