EFFECTS OF STORAGE TEMPERATURE AND MILK SAMPLE AGE ON THE SOMATIC CELL COUNT OF GOAT MILK

Abstract

In goat milk, storage temperature and milk age has been identified as one of possible factors affecting the somatic cell count (SCC). To establish the effect of the storage temperature and milk age used for SCC in goat milk, counts were performed on 320 aliquots of milk sample from 20 goats using Somacount 300 (Bentley Instruments). The milk samples were preserved with bronopol, kept at 5º, 10º, 20º and 30ºC and analyzed 1, 3, 5 and 7 day post-collection. The temperature storage and milk age did not modify the SCC of the milk samples significantly (P>0,05). The results of SCC in milk samples incubated at 10º, 20º and 30ºC were slightly lower than those incubated at 5ºC. Considering SCC variation lower than 9%, the results of SCC under experimental conditions can be acceptable for monitoring both the udder health and milk quality in dairy goats.