Bactoscan to TVC conversion Antibiotics postcards and posters

National Milk Laboratories
January/February 2014
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Antibiotics postcards and posters
An A2 size antibiotic poster, offering
guidance on preventing antibiotic
contamination of bulk milk, has been
developed by Dairy UK’s antibiotics group.
These are currently being printed and will
be issued to every GB dairy farmer.
Inside this issue:
A postcard providing information about the
poster will be sent prior to the posters
delivery.
Antibiotic postcards and
posters
1
Bactoscan to TVC
conversion
1
Healthy Cows, Healthy
Humans, Healthy Planet
2
Parlour Hygiene Suite
2
In mid March, NML will start to deliver
enough postcards and posters to every
depot, based on the number of farms
collected by the site. Posters will come in
packs of ten and will be accompanied by a
covering letter from Dairy UK.
For information, the posters will be
available in various languages and
farmers can request these by contacting
Dairy UK.
NML will write a briefing note for each
depot detailing the background to the
poster and how to distribute one poster
to every farm. Please could you notify
your transport depots of the poster’s
arrival and the need for their help in
delivering these. Your cooperation in
this matter is greatly appreciated.
A copy of both the antibiotic postcard
and poster are attached to this
newsletter.
Bactoscan to TVC conversion
BVD: Progress in England
and Scotland
3
Additional testing
3
NML Service Development
Manager
4
Client Meeting
4
The Food and Veterinary Office (FVO)
carried out an audit to evaluate the official
controls related to the production and
storage of raw milk and dairy products.
This audit was carried out between 08-19
April 2013 on behalf of the European
commission.
One of the findings was that ‘there is a
systematic lack of effective controls on raw
milk quality and especially on total
bacterial counts (TBC) and antibiotic
residues’. In particular, the audit team
highlighted the fact that no correlation
work has been done between TBC results
secured through Bactoscan FC testing
with the reference method (TVC),
although a comparision was done
between TVC and the Bactoscan 8000
(instrument version prior to FC).
The UK reference laboratory (AFBI) has
now been tasked by the Food Standards
Agency to coordinate the completion of
parallel testing between Bactoscan FC
and the reference method to establish
new conversion factors for the UK.
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PAGE 2
Healthy Cows, Healthy Humans, Healthy
Planet
A joint industry/university
symposium is breaking new ground
in a programme that looks at the
impact of different types of fats and
related issues right through the
dairy supply chain from production
to consumption and the
environment.
To be held on 16 April , 2014 at The
University of Reading, the
symposium is being organised by
partners in the Technology Strategy
Board funded project, the Diet and
Health Research Industry Club
(DRINC) project, the RESET study
funded by the Medical Research
Council (MRC) and other related
projects at the University of
Reading.
Well qualified to make the link
through the dairy chain from
production to consumption,
Professor Patrick Wall from
University College Dublin will set
the scene and lead the discussion.
As Associate Professor of Public
Health, he has particular research
interests in lifestyle related diseases
and health damaging consumer
behavior.
The morning sessions look at fatty
acid profiles and their role in cow
management with NMR’s Vicky
Hicks focusing on their use in
determining cow energy levels and a
possible alternative to traditional
condition scoring. Vet Richard
Cooper from Evidence Based
Veterinary Consultancy will focus on
the potential role of milk profiles in
disease detection and improving the
cow’s fatty acid profile through
breeding will be the subject of
Scottish Rural College’s geneticist
Professor Mike Coffey.
Progressing through the production
chain, Dr Kirsty Kliem from the
University of Reading will discuss
reducing saturated fatty acids in the
food chain through the alteration of
milk fat composition. This work is
part of the BBSRC/DRINC
sponsored project. It will be
followed by presentations on
several other projects at the
University of Reading
including the effect of
reducing saturated fatty
acids in milk on CVD risk
(the MRC RESET study)
and the link between milk
proteins and vascular
health (BBSRC/industry
Way2Go study).
Looking at the whole industry, a
DairyCo/Dairy Council funded study
on the integration of nutrition,
health, environment and financial
impacts will be discussed and Dairy
UK’s Chief Executive Dr Judith
Bryans will look at dairy products in
the UK diet and the role of the dairy
industry in creating a sustainable,
healthy future.
The symposium is aimed at milk
producers, processors, and retailers
as well as academics and
researchers. Registration details
will be emailed out shortly. Cost for
the day is £40 + VAT to include
refreshments and lunch.
For more information contact:
Vicky Hicks, NMR, 07971 804741,
[email protected]
Parlour Hygiene Suite
Our parlour hygiene suite is a
great way to narrow down the
cause of a high bactoscan. The test
consists of coliforms, thermodurics,
psychrotrophs and a total viable
count.
A high level of coliforms are a good
indicator of environmental
contamination, usually from poor
teat preparation. It is
recommended that you check plant
cleaning, and review the pre
milking teat preparation.
Thermodurics are bacteria that
can withstand high temperatures
and grow in dirty milking systems.
A high level of these is an
indicator of inadequate plant
cleaning and it is recommended
that you check that the wash
water is reaching the correct
temperature and that the correct
concentration of wash chemical is
being used.
Psychrotrophs are bacteria that
are able to grow at refrigeration
temperatures. If a high level of
these are found it is recommended
that you check that the milk is
cooling properly and that the tank
is cleaned properly.
The total viable count is a measure
of all the bacteria in the milk, if this
result is high you need to check for
bacteria from the udder,
environment, the plant and the bulk
tank.
The cause of a high bactoscan can be
quickly identified using the parlour
hygiene suite. The testing can be
done on milk samples NML already
has in the fridge and results will be
available in 3 days. The cost is just
£25 per sample (ex VAT) and to
order either you or your farmer
needs too contact the NML office on
01902749920 or by emailing
[email protected].
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PAGE 3
BVD: Progress in England and Scotland
Scotland’s BVD eradication
programme has now entered its
third stage. It began in 2010 with
a small amount of subsidised
testing. Most Scottish breeding
herds have been tested, with
movement restrictions placed upon
those herds that have not
complied. There is also a ban on
knowingly selling Persistently
Infected (PI) animals and a herds
BVD status must be declared at all
sales.
Over 90% of breeding herds have
undertaken their mandatory
screening and been allocated a
herd status of ‘negative’ or ‘not
negative’. Approximately 80% of
the herds screened have achieved
a ‘negative’ status but the diary
sector is lagging behind at only
50%. Great regional variability
can be seen and all ‘not negative’
herds are now being advised on
how to control BVD on their farms
in conjunction with their vet.
Stage 4 of the eradication
programme will be implemented in
January 2015, and would prohibit
the movement of any animal from
a ‘not negative’ herd, unless direct
to slaughter or the animal has
been individually tested negative
for BVD.
In England, the BVD Free project
has been running for a year and
has aimed to increase the
knowledge base of vets and
farmers on BVD. One hundred
veterinary practices have been
involved and over 1000 herds in
England have been screened for
BVD. March and April see a further
65 seminars taking place across
England to further raise the profile
of this disease. Visit www.farmskills.co.uk to find a meeting in your
area and take advantage of some
expert knowledge on BVD.
NML offer a full range of BVD
testing services that are fully
compliant with the requirements of
both the Scottish and English
schemes. Our bulk milk antibody
and virus (PCR) tests are the ideal
place to start BVD surveillance with
the added advantage of no extra
sampling as we already have your
bulk tank samples here in the lab.
Additional testing
All milk purchasers on every sample
collection have storage samples in
the fridge at NML that could be
used for additional testing.
Tests can be carried out either as a
‘one off’ or on a routine basis.
Prices for disease testing start from
£6.20 (ex VAT).
Quality Monitoring
Either you or your supplying
farmers can take advantage of these
samples, to;
The MilkCheck service provides
farmers with Fat, Protien, Cell
count, and Bactoscan results. Prices
for testing range from £2 to £5 per
sample (ex VAT).
To discuss tests available and to
order ring the NML office on 01902
749920
 Monitor the disease status of a
herd
 Monitor the compositional and
hygienic quality of the milk
 To help investigate the cause of a
high Bactoscan or SCC
 Look at the fatty acid profile
Disease status
NML can test bulk milk samples for
the following diseases, BVD
(Antibody and Virus tests are both
available), Lepto, IBR, and
Liverfluke.
Literature
NML would welcome the
opportunity to include inserts in
your communications to your farmer
suppliers to help them take
advantage of theses services.
Contact Sam Fewings for more
details by emailing
[email protected]
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NATIONAL MILK LABORA TORIES
NML Laboratories
Laches Close
Calibre Business Park
Four Ashes
Wolverhampton
WV10 7DZ
PAGE 4
NML Service
Development Manager
Harper Adams graduate Nicola Hares has joined
NMR’s business development team with responsibility
for overseeing the development of disease surveillance
services.
Since graduating Nicola has worked as Marketing and
PR Manager at Newbury Racecourse and more
recently she has helped to manage the family dairy
herd of 250 Holsteins in North Shropshire. Last year,
she was awarded a Tesco Sustainable Dairy Group
travel scholarship that took her to North America for 3
weeks to study and report back on transition cow
management.
One of Nicola’s key projects will be working on the
development and launch of NML’s new CHeCS
accredited BVD surveillance programme; BVD
HerdCheck. For more information on this new
programme please email Nicky ([email protected]) or
call 07500773085.
Client Meeting
For more information on NML services,
please visit our new website
www.nationalmilklabs.co.uk
or simply give us a call on 01902 749920
Following feedback from last years client meetings we
plan to hold this years meeting at our Four Ashes lab
on 21st May 2014. We will provide you with more
information on topics to be covered nearer the time. If
you would like to reserve a place please email Sam
Fewings on [email protected].
This years client meeting is likely to start at 9.45 and
finish for lunch at 1.30pm.
Alternatively if you would like a milk purchaser
specific client meeting please contact Sam Fewings to
discuss.

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