Quality checking by the milk enactment of the county of Nordrhein-Westfalen: Results from heat treated milk, analysed between January 1997 and June 1999

The transfer into practicality of the HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical C ontrol Point) guidelines of the Coder Alimentarius was emphasised legally f or the German dairy industry through 16 of the milk enactment (Milch-Verord nung) from 24(th) April 1995. In the county of Nordrhein-Westfalen this ena ctment is executed in a broad way, by the official analyses of milk and mil k products according to the County-Quality-enactment (Landesgiite-Verordnun g), which results in the application of additional methods, procedures and analyses for the scrutiny of the HACCP concept. Evaluation of the results of 828 samples of heat treated milk from Nordrhei n-Westfalen, analysed between Ist January 1997 and 31(st) May 1999, demonst rate that 93.9% of pasteurised and 99.6% of UHT (ultra high temperature) an d sterilised milk samples fulfilled the demands of the new Country-Quality- enactment of Nordrhein-Westfalen from 1996. Deviations were located predomi nantly in the microbiological nature. In 18 of 592 samples of pasteurised s amples, coliformes were detected (in 0.1 ml of milk) and in 10 samples the bacterial numbers exceeded 200,000 colony forming units/ml. Variances in th e chemical-physical (5 samples) and sensorial properties (5 samples) were e xtremely rare. For the additional parameters (residuals, contaminants and p athogenic agents) only one sample with a positive result in the analysis of antibiotic residues (brilliant black reduction test) was found, whilst all other results were within the limits or negative for the parameter tested. The present results demonstrate scientific evidence for the high quality st andard of heat treated consumable milk in Nordrhein-Westfalen and emphasise the importance of the County-Quality-enactment of Nordrhein-Westfalen in c ontrolling the product quality and the HACCP-concept within milk plants.