Like the idea of natural raw milk but want to be sure it is safe? You are not alone. When we started our micro-dairy farm the first step was setting up a small milk testing lab. This helped us determine the optimal cleaning process and make sure we had eliminated sources of contamination. If you wish to enjoy raw dairy with piece of mind I recommend setting up your own lab and making sure your processes are sufficient too.
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eBay: Pipettes
These are used to take a measured sample of the milk. There are marks on the side to show how much milk is in the dropper at a point in time.
You will put 1ml of milk on these coliform count plates. They are then placed in the incubator at the temperature and amount of time listed on the package. Typically 32deg Celsius for 24 hours. After this you count the number of dots and that gives you the number of coliform counts/ml of milk. A great setup will give you 0-5 counts/ml. 5-20 is OK. More than 20 and you need to need to make some improvements to your milking/cleaning process.
For the aerobic test you will need to put 1ml of milk in one of these dilution bottles using a fresh pipette, put the lid on and invert the bottle several times to stir the solution while not letting the pipette touch anything.
eBay: Aerobic Petrifilm
Lift the film on the Aerobic plate, take 1ml of diluted milk sample from the bottle using the pipette and put it in the test circle. Put the film back on carefully to avoid getting bubbles and tilt the sample to distribute the liquid to all sides of the test circle.
eBay: Incubator:
This is a small efficient incubator. The first one we purchased was twice this size and took up way to much countertop space.
Once you have finished preparing the samples place them in the middle of the incubator and wait 24 hours at 32 deg C.
See the Aerobic Petrifilm Interpretation Guide for instructions
See the Coliform Petrifilm Interpretation Guide for instructions
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