Quality of cows' milk from organic and conventional farming

Abstract

The results of chemical and microbial analyses of raw milk samples coming from organic and conventional farming systems were statistically compared. The samples were analysed during a twelve-month period (June-May). A total of 2206 samples were collected of which 528 were organic. After raw milk was processed, sensory hedonic quality of 171 pairs of organic and conventional non-standardised pasteurised whole milk samples were evaluated using the pair comparison preference test. Four parameters in raw milk, free fatty acids, urea content, somatic cell count and coliform bacteria count, showed no significant differences between the two types of production. Significantly higher contents of protein, casein, lactose, and non-fat solids were detected in conventional milk, which also had a significantly lower freezing point. On the contrary, significantly higher contents of total mesophilic bacteria count and a higher percentage of samples with positive coliform bacteria count were found in organic milk samples. Sensory analysis of pasteurised milk showed no significant hedonic difference between organic and conventional samples.

Keywords

• hedonic evaluation
• microbiological quality
• milk composition
• holsein cattle