SESSION 6. Approach to ensuring safety and hygiene in the dairy production chain in emerging dairy nations
Abstract
China is experiencing rapid growth in the dairy industry. The average growth rate has been about 15% per year in the recent years. The image of dairy products, especially the safety & hygiene, is very important to sustain rapid development. The government is pushing the school milk programme and set the school milk programme as a standard of safety & hygiene for the industry. The Chinese dairy industry is still immature and to meet the growth in the industry the number of farms is increasing, especially small farms. The dairy industry is applying creative new ideas to achieve high standards in dairy safety & hygiene including village milking centers and collective farms. The traditional small farm plus collecting station is being replaced by larger scale individual or collective farm, and milking center. Milk quality standards and preventive measures including disease control are researched and extended to the farmers. Environmental issues are being addressed in the city suburbs. Everything is changing towards a sustainable dairy industry.
MAIN TRENDS IN THE DAIRY INDUSTRY
China is experiencing rapid growth in its dairy industry. The average growth rate is about 15% per year in the recent years. The economy is increasing steadily with recent annual growth rates of 7-8%. The economic growth is the driving factor for dairy consumption. The growth rate within the industry is currently exceeding a natural development and, consequently, the industry must take creative approaches to marketing, processing and production to economically develop a sustainable industry
A successful dairy industry brings increased wealth to dairy farmers and, due to the nature of the industry, many small farms are created, which leads to prosperity in the rural economy.
QUALITY AND SAFETY SITUATION
1. Introduction
The image of dairy products, especially the safety & hygiene, is very important to sustain rapid development. The economy is driving the consumption. More and more people are concerned about their health. Dairy products are considered healthy food. It is important to improve the product quality to ensure the safety that is important for consumer confidence.
The government is pushing the school milk programme and set the school milk programme as a standard of safety & hygiene for the industry. The school milk programme is considered a tool to cultivate the next milk-drinking generation. The government and industry have established strict rules and high standard, because the children are very sensitive to quality and safety issues. Processing companies require a special permit to participate in the school milk programme. The whole process of production, processing and distribution is monitored with emphasis on quality and safety and the school milk programme has established a new standard of excellence for other dairy products. It also sets an example for other categories of products.
Quality is also very important to meet processing requirements and extend shelf life. For example, UHT milk processing requires good quality raw milk. The convenience for storage and distribution of UHT milk makes it the highest growth category of dairy products. The farming system needs to be upgraded to meet the demand created by the UHT product.
The Chinese dairy industry is still immature and to meet the growth in the industry the number of farms is increasing, especially small farms. Small farms have limited access to milking and cooling equipment, there is a high incidence of excessive milking by hand and hygiene is an ongoing problem. The result is a high total plate count and adulteration is also a problem. The small farm has low efficiency because the production is low and there is no economy of scale. Small farms are located adjacent to the family living quarters creating an unpleasant living environment.
2. Creative solutions
The dairy industry is applying creative new ideas to achieve high standards in dairy safety & hygiene including village milking centers and collective farms. The traditional small farm plus collection station is being replaced by larger scale individual or collective farms, and milking centers.
VILLAGE MILKING CENTERS
The small-scale farms are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to the production of quality milk because they do not have the financial resources to invest in mechanical milking and cooling systems. The Dairy Village Milking Center Concept is the transition strategy for small-scale farms to become viable family farming operations. This concept begins with family operated farms forming a ‘group’, so they can share the use and expense of milking equipment and systems. By grouping together, the small-scale farmers would have access to mechanical milking and cooling that will allow them to produce a quality product.
A common milking center is constructed in the centre of the village and is equipped with mechanical milking and cooling systems. The farmers raise their cows individually. The village will normally have 300 to 1000 cows and the distance from each farm to the milking center is around 500 to 1500 meter. The village milking center can solve many of the problems associated with milk quality. The milking process is controlled and the cold chain is completed to ensure a total plate count lower than 500,000 CFU per milliliter. For comparison, the TPC is often over 1 million CFU/ML without the dairy village milking center. It also prevents adulteration because milking is done in a controlled environment. The monitoring of inhibitors and other residues is possible because the system facilitates traceability. The water quality control and cleaning can also be monitored.
The village-milking center is also the extension center. All records can be collected allowing the implementation of genetic improvement and disease control programme.
COLLECTIVE FARMS
Collective farms are built at one site; similar to an individual farm. The farm scale is normally around 300 to 1000 cows with each family owning from 10-100 cows. The farm will have unified services for milking, AI & Vet Service, feeds & feeding. Each farm leases the space and pays for services supplied or gets a lower milk price for exchange of services. The cattle are raised at a location away from the home, which greatly improves living conditions.
Similar to the dairy village milking center, the collective farm can solve many of the problems associated with production efficiency, environment and milk quality and safety. Production can be higher due to better service, improved disease control and less walking. The economy of scale is realized by working together.
3. Large-scale farms
Milk quality standards and preventive measures including disease control are researched at the modern large-scale farm and then extended to other farms. About 20 percent of farms have more than 100 cows and they are using modern equipment and technologies.
The large-scale farms are mostly located close to the cities. For example, in the Shanghai area there are 60,000 head of Holstein cattle and all herds have more than 100 cows. These farms are all milked by pipeline or parlor machine with cooling tanks and the average lactating cow 305 day production was 8050kg in 2002. These farms are targeting world-class production and milk quality standards.
Environmental issues are being addressed in the city suburbs with all new constructions being required to incorporate manure composting & sewage treatments facilities. These model farms are providing examples for dairy farming, genetic improvement and service across China.
WHAT IS AHEAD OF US?
Everything is changing towards a sustainable dairy industry. China is a
large and diverse country with many different situations. There are modern large farms as well as one cow farms. The rapid development of the dairy industry has allowed dairy farming to become a tool of poverty alleviation and, consequently, the new farms are mainly small farms. Therefore, the creative approaches of milking centers and collective farms will continue to grow in popularity. We shall continue to work hard and smart to achieve sustainable development.
IDF/FAO international symposium on dairy safety and hygiene Cape Town,
South Africa, March 2–5, 2004
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