GOOD MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR SUCCESSFUL DAIRY FARMING IN INDIA

May 28, 2021

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GOOD MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR SUCCESSFUL DAIRY FARMING IN INDIA

Introduction:

Good Management Practices (GMP) are intended to help dairy processors to control the operational conditions within their facility, allowing environmental conditions that are favourable to the production of safe and suitable dairy products. In short, Good Managing Practices control contamination, supervise general employee hygiene and ensure safe product handling practice.

Good Dairy Management Practice must ensure that the milk and the by-products obtained from milk must be safe. A good farming practice has its influence over the future in field of economics, and environmental aspects. Dairy farmers aim at producing products for the consumers so they must feel that the quality is good and they should feel safe to take it. A Good dairy farming practice ensures the production which satisfies the expectations of the consumers. Milk and milk products is monitored by the Codex Recommended International Code of Practice – General Principles of Food Hygiene together with the Codex Code of Hygienic Practice for Milk and Milk.

Premises:

It includes Facility blueprint, process flow diagram along with facility exterior and facility interior. Waste disposal management and Sanitary facilities play an important role in clean manufacturing process. Essential signs at specific areas near water and steam supply for safety purpose.
Facility blueprints and process flow diagrams:

Keep on file up-to-date blue prints of the facility, Blueprints, Information on blueprint, Process flow diagram, Process flow separation.

Facility exterior:

It is designed, constructed and maintained to prevent entry of contaminants and pests.

Facility interior:

Covers all floors, walls, ceilings, stairs, elevators, utility lines, electrical boxes, doors and windows, ventilation, lighting, drain in the facility. Design the interior of the facility to minimize contamination of food.

Waste disposal:

Sewage disposal, Garbage disposal.

Sanitary facilities:

Hand cleaning and sanitizing stations, employee facilities (washrooms, lunchrooms, change rooms)

Essential signs:

Unauthorized personnel, hand washing signs, hazardous material signs

Non processing areas:

Clean-out-of-place (COP), boiler and compressor rooms, maintain these areas to ensure a sanitary environment.

Water and steam safety and supply:

Safe, sanitary and adequate supply of water, water treatment, water reuse, steam supply, water and steam hose equipment, records.

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system unit

Use HVAC system that are cleanable and maintain in them in clean condition.

Glass breakage policy:

Use shatterproof type, must have a document glass breakage policy.

Objectives of Good Farming Practices:

Clean In Place (CIP) Systems:

This cleaning technique is used for permanent installations which are difficult or impossible to clean by other techniques, It uses a combination physical and chemical means to remove soil from food contact surfaces.

The following are recommendations for various components of CIP system

Pumps, Tanks(solution and rinse), Pipelines and valves, Thermostat, Recording thermometer and charts, Temperature controller.

Sources of contamination:

They can be form people, food materials, packaging material and hazards.

Employee hygiene:

All the employees working in direct contact with the milk and milk packaging must confront the hygienic practices. This protects against contaminations of food by micro-organisms or unwanted materials. Points to maintain hygiene and to prevent communicable disease are clothing, hair, personal habits, hand washing, personal effect, jewellery, illness, and injuries of the employee.

Precautions for production employees are daily bathing, avoiding perfume, after shave, fragrant creams, avoiding false nails or nail polish, the finger nails should be trimmed, avoid eating or chewing.

Hand washing is an important check point. All the employees must wash their hands thoroughly when they enter the handling areas, before starting the works, after handling the materials, and after using toilets.

Dairy Handling Practices involves two aspects:

Personnel:

Do not leave used gloves, masks and other personal items lying around while on shift breaks.

Crates, boxes, containers or buckets must not be placed directly on the floor.

Store brooms and dust pans at stations provided

Dairy product:

Keep hand contact with ingredients to minimum.

Check ingredients for expiration dates to ensure that fresh ingredients are used.

Cooling products should always be kept covered.

Equipments, Containers and Utensils:

Production equipments must be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized with appropriate sanitizer after use.

Check the surface before starting equipment; remove any foreign objects or dirt.

Scrappers for cleaning the utensils, table tops are not been used on floors.

Visitors to the production area:

They should always be accompanied by a working person.

They must be appropriately dressed with hand covering, boots over shoes, gloves, sleeve covers and other necessary protective measures.

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP)

It comprises of 7 steps;

Hazard analysis

All the hazard should be identified and evaluated with regard to that severity and likely frequency of occurrence by developing flow chart of the process involved in the production of dairy products.

Determination of critical points(CCPs)

Critical control point is a location at which control can be exercised over one or more factors which if controlled could minimize or prevent a hazard.

CCP1: Where the hazard can be prevented or eliminated.

CPP2: Where the hazard can be minimized, reduced or delayed.

Specification of the criteria:

Criteria are specific limits of characteristics of a Physical (Time or temperature); Chemical (Salt or acetic acid); Biological (Sensory or microbial) parameters.

Increasing emphasis has been placed on the quantitative aspect rather than the qualitative criteria which indicate whether an operation is under control or not.

Implementation of monitoring system:

Monitoring is the systematic checking of the process of procedure at a particular CCP in order to detect any deviation from the criteria which have been set. This is the best carried out by the operatives themselves or by their supervisors. The methods selected for monitoring must give immediate results so that any problems detected can be controlled immediately.

Corrective action:

Procedures must be established so that immediate samples can be taken for detection of deviation from the established criteria. This may involve: Rectification of an out-of control situation before an operation is allowed to commence. Halting the management process, if needed.

Verification:

Verification checks are carried out systematically by the quality assurance staff and the Veterinary inspection team. Verification may involve some microbiological checks of the end product, structures and equipments. All checks should be carried out at a statistically significant frequency and in a systematic manner.

Documentation:

Documentation of the findings of each step is very important but at the same time it should not be the sole aim over-looking the objectives of safe milk production.

Dr. Sudhanya Nath¹* and Aravindkumar K.²

¹PhD Scholar, Dept. of Animal Nutrition, West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences, Kolkata – 700037

²B.V.Sc. & A.H. Student, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Veterinary Education and Research, Puducherry – 605009

*Corresponding author – sudhanyanath@yahoo.com

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