Milk these days has very little, if any, chance of crud getting in to the milk.
It goes from the cow via milk machines straight to a tank via steel pipes being cooled all the way.
Milk does not get exposed to the air at any of the stages getting it from the cow's teat to the bulk tank.
As I said, when hand milking I often gave the odd squirt or two straight from the teat to my mouth and didn't find any scrunchy bits.
As VSS says, it gets filtered. A relatively coarse filter, not the microfilters that e.g. Cravendale use. To trap gunge, such as from mastitis, . Just because you used to drink it from the teat and didn't have a problem doesn't mean that is OK for something to be sold.
A quick Google didn't turn up anything UK specific, but here are the rules in Canada for example:
OMAFRA Food Industry
omaf.gov.on.ca
The importance of milk filters on any dairy farm can easily be overlooked, yet they provide some significant benefits by helping to:
- provide high quality milk to dairy processors;
- identify mastitis and other udder health problems;
- identify insufficient bedding or an unclean environment;
- and ensure plate coolers remain clean, free of debris and functional
Filtering milk is also a requirement under the regulations. Section 5.(2) of Regulation 761 under the Milk Act (Ontario) states that no producer shall sell or offer for sale milk that has not been filtered by means of a single-service filter or a stainless steel mesh-type filter approved by the Director. The purpose of filtration is to separate any solid particles suspended in the milk before it reaches the bulk tank.
Milk filter pore size ranges from 100 to 250 micrometres while bacteria are much smaller - typically 1 to 10 micrometers. Particles that are larger than the pore size (such as straw, hair, flakes, clots or insects) are caught on the filter preventing them from entering the bulk tank.
Milk filters should be installed only on the discharge side of the milk pump; usually in the pipeline between the milk pump and the bulk tank. In systems with plate coolers, the milk filter is always located before the plate cooler to ensure the milk is warm when filtering. Warm milk (36° to 38°C range) can be filtered easily whereas cold milk will block disposable filters.
The sort of microfiltration that e.g. Cravendale are doing is far finer, Fine enough to trap bacteria and spores. Here's how Tetrapak describe their membrane systems. Cravendale are using something different, a ceramic system.
Filtration processes for dairy process
Microfiltration uses the most open type of membrane, which is used to separate bacteria, spores, and fat globules from the stream, and for fractionation of skim milk.
As above - also Id imagine its Farm to you, cutting out the middle man? Nunton Dairy just south of Odstock do some fantastic Milk which is pasteurised but they sell it from venting machines one in Downton, Odstock and Salisbury Rugby club. More expensive than supermarket milk but you know where its come from.
Yes, exactly that. Camping at Treen, I'd just walk to the farm shop (wooden hut) in the village and buy a couple of bottles. Had to get there early though, it was always sold out by the afternoon, They also did excellent fruit, veg, eggs (the eggs probably the best I've ever found) and sandwiches. You had to return the empty bottle, otherwise they charged a deposit ISTR £1.
What happens at mine is a cheery man in a white coat delivers me a small quantity in returnable glass bottles every other day.
Used to have the same here, until Tesco built a huge "Express" a few hundred yards away so business dropped off. I kept going with him on principle, until he packed it in.
