Quality Of Milk Products Research Articles

БІОТЕХНОЛОГІЧНІ АСПЕКТИ ОТРИМАННЯ КИСЛОМОЛОЧНОГО ПРОДУКТУ ФУНКЦІОНАЛЬНОГО ПРИЗНАЧЕННЯ

The article exposes results of studies as to the amaranth oil and natural origin biopolymer complexes influencing the Lactobacillus plantarum cultivation. It is shown that amaranth oil does not inhibit the Lactobacilli, growth but in the prebiotics’ presence (namely strong wheat bran and biopolymer complex obtained from sugar beet) is contributing into the biomass accumulation efficiency and provides cells’ probiotic dose, reducing the product fermentation delay, thus influences the resulting fermented milk product quality and physiological functionality. A schematic diagram of the fermented product biotechnology is presented

Livestock production performance in India

Livestock are domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fibre and labour. This article does not discuss poultry or farmed fish, although these, especially poultry, are commonly included within the meaning of livestock. The objectives of the study was to examine the performance of livestock sector, to identify the remedies to overcome the production loss, to assess the quantum of livestock Population in India and to assess the growth in Production of Milk, Eggs, Meat and Wool in India. The precised secondary data of livestock products; i.e., milk, eggs, meat and wool and their population is collected from the website www.india.stat.com and www.agricoop.nic.in (Department of agriculture and co-operation, New Delhi). Compound Annual Growth Rates (CAGR) was estimated to examine the growth of various livestock products. Data for the study of production of Milk, Eggs, Meat and Wool were collected from the secondary sources for the period 1991-92 to 2010-11 and livestock population in India for period of time interval of 10 years from 1951 to 2011. The production data of milk, eggs, meat and wool pertains to a period of 20 years, i.e. , from 1991-92 to 2010-11. The sub-periods framed were as below: Period-I: 1991-92 to 2000-01 (10 years) and Period-II: 2001-02 to 2010-11 (10 years) Overall: 1991-92 to 2010-11 (20 years). The study revealed that the production of milk, meat, eggs, and wool has been increased in its quantum and compound growth rates are also significant. The total livestock population was highest in period of 1981.The population of poultry was highest in year 2001.The maximum growth was observed in case of meat with CGR of 12.16 per cent at period-II. The highest production growth rate of milk was observed in period-II. Eggs production is dominating in overall period while wool production dominating in period-I. There was highest variation in production of meat produce. There is need to increase the production of livestock produce. There is need to strengthening Infrastructure for Quality and Clean Milk Production. There is need to maintain hygienic condition in goat/sheep farm. Government should give subsidies on poultry business for eggs production

Quality Assessment of Different Milk Brands Available in Kottayam District, Kerala

Milk is a perishable commodity; its low acidity and high nutrient content make it the perfect breeding ground for bacteria. Milk quality control tests are designed to ensure that milk products meet accepted standards for chemical composition and purity as well as levels of different micro-organisms. To assess the quality of the different milk brands available in Kottayam district, Kerala. Using questionnaire, information was elicited among the local people, to know the highly preferred milk sample; three more samples of varied brands were selected for the present study. Microbial, organoleptic and chemical parameters tests were carried out in all the 4 samples. Government owned milk brand had the overall quality with its highest ranking of preference and absence of coliform, < 2000cfu, 0.14 level of acidity, fat content and SNF being 3.5 and 8.5 respectively. By and large, certified farms/dairy must meet provincial standards for quality milk production, adequate processing and clean premises.

Milk production characteristics in Southern Brazil

Este trabalho teve como objetivo descrever a produção de leite no Sul do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, e identificar os fatores que afetam a qualidade do leite na região. A idade média dos produtores de leite da região é de 49 anos, e 67,9% não concluíram o ensino fundamental. A atividade leiteira é realizada em propriedades com média de 26,06 hectares e 8,4 vacas em lactação. A maioria dos produtores (32,83%) produz entre 50 a 100 litros de leite por dia. Entre as propriedades, 13,21% produz até 30 L/dia, e apenas 1.89% produz mais de 500 litros de leite por dia. A produtividade média foi de 6,8 L/vaca/dia. No que diz respeito ao procedimento de ordenha, 39,3% dos produtores de leite ordenha seus animais manualmente, apenas 14,2% realizam desinfecção dos tetos antes da ordenha, e 53,9% usa um único pano para secar todos os tetos dos animais. Com relação à infra-estrutura, 52,8% dos produtores ordenham seus animais em estábulos de madeira. Observou-se que a contagem média de células somáticas (CCS) ficou dentro dos parâmetros legais, apresentando correlação negativa com a produção de leite (r = -0,23) e teor de lactose (r = -0,39). No entanto, a contagem bacteriana total (CBT) ficou acima dos parâmetros legais. O nível de escolaridade parece interferir na adoção de técnicas adequadas de ordenha e, consequentemente, na qualidade do leite, porque os produtores menos instruídos trabalham em uma infra-estrutura mais precária e obtém um produto de menor qualidade. Os dados mostram que há produção de leite de menor qualidade em estabelecimentos onde o nível de escolaridade do proprietário é baixo e são adotadas técnicas inadequadas de manejo de ordenha. Portanto, a instrução do proprietário afeta a qualidade do leite.

Antimicrobial susceptibilities and random amplified polymorphic DNA-PCR fingerprint characterization of Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis and Lactococcus garvieae isolated from bovine intramammary infections

In total, 181 streptococci-like bacteria isolated from intramammary infections (IMI) were submitted by a veterinary clinic to Quality Milk Production Services (QMPS, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY). The isolates were characterized by sequence analysis, and 46 Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis and 47 Lactococcus garvieae were tested for susceptibility to 17 antibiotics. No resistant strains were found for β-lactam antibiotics widely used in clinical practice (penicillin, ampicillin, and amoxicillin), and all minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were far from the resistance breakpoints. Eight strains had MIC intermediate to cefazolin. The random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR fingerprint patterns showed a slightly higher heterogeneity for Lc. lactis ssp. lactis isolates than for Lc. garvieae isolates.

Analysis of the enzyme network involved in cattle milk production using graph theory.

Understanding cattle metabolism and its relationship with milk products is important in bovine breeding. A systemic view could lead to consequences that will result in a better understanding of existing concepts. Topological indices and quantitative characterizations mostly result from the application of graph theory on biological data. In the present work, the enzyme network involved in cattle milk production was reconstructed and analyzed based on available bovine genome information using several public datasets (NCBI, Uniprot, KEGG, and Brenda). The reconstructed network consisted of 3605 reactions named by KEGG compound numbers and 646 enzymes that catalyzed the corresponding reactions. The characteristics of the directed and undirected network were analyzed using Graph Theory. The mean path length was calculated to be4.39 and 5.41 for directed and undirected networks, respectively. The top 11 hub enzymes whose abnormality could harm bovine health and reduce milk production were determined. Therefore, the aim of constructing the enzyme centric network was twofold; first to find out whether such network followed the same properties of other biological networks, and second, to find the key enzymes. The results of the present study can improve our understanding of milk production in cattle. Also, analysis of the enzyme network can help improve the modeling and simulation of biological systems and help design desired phenotypes to increase milk production quality or quantity.

Feeding and management techniques to favour summer sheep milk and cheese production in the Mediterranean environment

Sheep milk production in summer can lead to a diversification of milk products and to a more regular product distribution in the market throughout the year. However, in Mediterranean countries small ruminant production cycles are subjected to seasonal variations in forage resources. During summer, a key period for out of season production systems, nutrition plays a fundamental role in regulating the quantity and quality of milk production. In this review, feeding strategies and techniques that could be applied for out of season production in dairy ewes under different Mediterranean conditions are described for intensive, pasture-based and mixed systems. The most common feeding strategies used during the dry season are based on grazing post-harvest by-products or forage produced under irrigation. The criteria used to choose the appropriate forage species and to optimize the grazing technique are discussed here. In addition, types of forages and feeding techniques to be adopted for indoor systems, along with a series of feed supplements best suited to cope with heat stress, are described. The influence of feed resources and environmental conditions on milk and cheese production are also discussed. Overall, in order to be cost-effective, out of season sheep milk production systems must take into consideration the availability and price of feed resources, especially supplements, and irrigation costs. It is concluded that out of season milk production could be adopted primarily by farms with highly productive breeds, access to irrigated lands and appropriate management skills.

Detection of Some Pathogenic Organisms From Dairy Farm Milk

This study was conducted to evaluate the quality of raw cow milk at the farm level which considered the first step for production of safe and high quality milk. A total of 150 raw cow milk samples were collected from governmental and private farms at Alexandria Governorate, Egypt. The samples were analyzed for bacteriological properties. The mean values of TBC, coliforms ,Staphylococcus aureus and Aeromonas hydrophila count in positive samples were 3.22 × 104 ± 7.28 × 103, 1.4 × 103 ± 3.9 × 102, 5.26 ×102 ± 8.1 × 10 and 6.4 ×10 ± 1.3 × 10 in examined raw cow milk collected from governmental farms while the respective counts in raw cow milk collected from private farms were 1.51 × 105 ± 2.59 × 104, 3.28 × 102 ± 4.7 × 10, 2.95 × 102 ± 7.7 × 10 and 6.8 ×10 ± 4.1 × 10. Also prevalence of some pathogens as E. coli ,Salmonellae and Yersinia enterocolitica organisms were detected .The hygienic as well as the public health significance of raw milk were discussed.

Deterrents of clean milk production practices in dairy value chain

To compete in national and international markets the urgency for clean milk production (CMP) is unavoidable. To achieve this milestone objective of creation of infrastructure for cooling chain and development of CMP based knowledge and adoption practices are the major motives. Before suggesting it to dairy value chain system, one should know about gaps and constraints which hurdles the raw milk quality. An attempt was, therefore, made to know the constraints faced by dairy farmers in adoption of CMP practices, which hindered the quality milk production in Rajasthan. The milk shed area of four district milk unions (viz. Alwar, Bhilwara, Bikaner and Hanumangarh) was selected using multistage proportionate random sampling procedure. A total of 120 farmers were selected through proportionate random sampling. The constraints were broadly classified into three categories according to the level of milk collection, i.e. pail, DCS and dock/Union level. The results of study revealed that lack of facilities for cooling and disposal of milk, unavailability of electricity and high wages oflabour; lack of incentives for CMP, lack of shed area at DCS for keeping milk cans and lack of knowledge of dairy secretary about CMP, lack of training to milk transporters on maintenance of milk quality and prompt transportation were reported most important at pail, DCS and dock levels, respectively.

Prospects of dairy sheep farming in India: An overview

Basic idea of this paper is to review present status of dairy farming in sheep and explore the possibility for its establishment in the country to ensure more remuneration to farmers and quality milk products supply to consumers. Dairy sheep breeds are predominately found in Middle East and Mediterranean countries. The contribution of sheep milk to total milk production in the world is negligible (only 1.32%) but it is important in some of the countries like Greece, Syria, Jordon, Iraq, Somalia where sheep milk contributes 17–36% of total milk production. Awassi is a well-known dairy breed belonging to fat-tailed group and widely found in Middle East (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Israel) countries. Awassi has proliferated, for breeding purposes, into at least 30 countries in all continents. Other dairy sheep breeds like Assaf (Israel), East Friesian (Germany), Lacaune (France), Sarda (Sardinia), Chios (Greece), Manchega (Spain), etc. are reared under intensive system for milk production. More than 95% of sheep milk is converted into cheese. Ewes ’milk is rich in proteins, minerals and lipids. Sheep milk is a medical necessity as an alternative to cow milk for many people and especially for infants. Bioactive peptides of sheep milk proteins have specific biological activities, such as antihypertensive, antimicrobial, opioid, antioxidant, immunomodulatory or mineral binding. These protein fragments are formed from the precursor inactive protein during gastrointestinal digestion and/or during food processing. Dairy sheep farming is more profitable and provides 2.2 times more net income per flock and per ewe over nondairy sheep farming.

The Immunology of Mammary Gland of Dairy Ruminants between Healthy and Inflammatory Conditions.

The health of dairy animals, particularly the milk-producing mammary glands, is essential to the dairy industry because of the crucial hygienic and economic aspects of ensuring production of high quality milk. Due to its high prevalence, mastitis is considered the most important threat to dairy industry, due to its impacts on animal health and milk production and thus on economic benefits. The MG is protected by several defence mechanisms that prevent microbial penetration and surveillance. However, several factors can attenuate the host immune response (IR), and the possession of various virulence and resistance factors by different mastitis-causing microorganisms greatly limits immune defences and promotes establishment of intramammary infections (IMIs). A comprehensive understanding of MG immunity in both healthy and inflammatory conditions will be an important key to understand the nature of IMIs caused by specific pathogens and greatly contributes to the development of effective control methods and appropriate detection techniques. Consequently, this review aims to provide a detailed overview of antimicrobial defences in the MG under healthy and inflammatory conditions. In this sense, we will focus on pathogen-dependent variations in IRs mounted by the host during IMI and discuss the potential ramifications of these variations.

Evaluación del rendimiento y la calidad del forraje Maralfalfa en tres vaquerías del norte de Puerto Rico en la época de días largos

Se realizó un experimento para evaluar el rendimiento de materia seca (RMS) y la calidad del forraje de Maralfalfa a seis intervalos de cosecha (IC; 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 d) en tres vaquerías del norte de Puerto Rico durante la época de días largos. El IC de 40 días resultó en significativamente (P &lt; 0.05) menor RMS que los intervalos de 60, 80 y 90 días; no hubo diferencias significativas (P &lt; 0.05) entre los RMS obtenidos a 40, 50 y 70 días. El corte a los 40 días resultó en la mejor calidad forrajera según indicado por los criterios de contenido de proteína bruta, digestibilidad in vitro de la materia seca, y de fibra insoluble en detergente neutro; además de valores estimados de energía neta, índice de calidad relativa y la producción teórica de leche. Aunque se observan diferencias significativas (P &lt; 0.05) en algunos de estos criterios entre los IC de 40 y 50 días, el de 50 días todavía evidencia una buena calidad nutricional; contrario a los cuatro intervalos más largos, con los que se obtuvo mayor RMS pero la calidad forrajera resultó marcadamente inferior. Las ecuaciones de regresión simple entre la digestibilidad in vitro de la materia seca y de la fibra insoluble en detergente neutro versus el intervalo de corte mostraron una pérdida en digestibilidad de 2.7 y 3 puntos porcentuales por cada 10 días de aumento en el intervalo de corte, respectivamente.

Impact of applying hygienic practices at farm on bacteriological quality of raw milk

Aim: The present study was carried out to explore the potential source of contamination and the efficacy of different washing practices towards quality milk production. Materials and Methods: Probable sources of contamination viz. stored water, potable water, milker’s hands, milking pail, udder of individual buffalo and milk cans were subjected to different types of bacterial counts before the actual experiment to start. Twenty milch buffaloes thereafter were divided randomly into four treatment groups where washing was performed in each step viz. milker hands, udder of individual buffalo, milking pail and milk cans before milking either with water (T0: stored water, T1: potable water) or sanitizers (T2: 200 ppm chlorine solution, T3: 50 ppm iodophore solution) for 60 days. Bacterial counts again were performed for last 5 alternate days for all the sources involved along with the microbial load of raw milk. Data obtained were subjected to standard statistical analysis. Results: It was found that for all bacterial count stored water contributed significantly higher as compared to the potable water. Among the other potential sources of contamination (log/6 cm2), standard plate count (SPC) and coliform count were significantly highest for milking pail (6.73±0.02) and udder of milch buffaloes (3.77±0.12), respectively, while for Staphylococci count both milking pail (3.24±0.02) and milking can (3.22±0.04) were contributed maximally (p 0.05) for most of the parameters, even for the raw milk quality. Conclusion: Study revealed that milker hands, milking pails, udder of animals, milk cans and stored water used for washing of equipment are the potential source of contamination in raw milk. These were counted as critical point which needs attention for the production of high-quality milk. Potable water was found to be better than stored water. The use of either chlorine 200 ppm and iodophor 50 ppm is highly effective in reducing the bacterial population for quality milk production.

VZTAH KONCENTRACE ZDRAVOTNĚ VÝZNAMNÝCH SKUPIN MASTNÝCH KYSELIN KE SLOŽKÁM A TECHNOLOGICKÝM VLASTNOSTEM KRAVSKÉHO MLÉKA

Groups of fatty acids (FAs) in milk fat can have positive and negative impact on consumer health. Profile of FAs could be influenced by dairy cow nutrition, breed, milk yield level et cetera. The question is what relationships the FAs could have to quality of milk products? Relationships between FAs and their groups to selected milk indicators were studied in Czech Fleckvieh and Holstein cows (64 bulk milk samples). There were 8 herds in 2-year investigation during winter and summer season. The relationship of saturated FAs (SAFA; 66.22%) was significant only to lactose (L) content (0.290; P &lt; 0.05). The relationships of monounsaturated FAs (MUFA; 29.21%) to milk indicators (MIs) were in­si­gni­fi­cant (P &gt; 0.05). The relationships of polyunsaturated FAs (PUFA, beneficial for consumer health; 4.53%) to MIs were narrower: fat (T, 0.321; P &lt; 0.05); lactose (L, 0.458; P &lt; 0.01); milk alcohol stability (AL, 0.447; P &lt; 0.01); titration acidity (SH, 0.342; P &lt; 0.01); cheese curd quality (KV, 0.427; P &lt; 0.01); milk fermentationability (JSH, 0.529; P &lt; 0.001), streptococci count in yoghurt (Strepto, 0.316; P &lt; 0.05); total count of noble bacteria in yoghurt (CPMUK, 0.314; P &lt; 0.05); streptococci/lactobacilly ratio (StreptoLacto, 0.356; P &lt; 0.01). The relationships of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA; markedly beneficial for health; 0.68%) to MIs were: T (0.379; P &lt; 0.01); L (–0.542; P &lt; 0.001); AL (0.266; P &lt; 0.05); KV (0.411; P &lt; 0.01); Strepto (0.260; P &lt; 0.05); StreptoLacto (0.270; P &lt; 0.05). The higher CLA levels were connected in this way with: higher fat content; lower lactose content; lower alcohol stability; lower streptococci count in yoghurt; lower streptococci/lactobacilly ratio in yoghurt. The PUFA and CLA representation decreased with L increase. Simultaneously some technological milk properties such as alcohol sta­bi­li­ty and fermentationability were slightly improved.

Applications of somatic cell nuclear transfer in goats

A number of animals with genetically identical appearance can be produced by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). From current advancement of SCNT and molecular techniques, production of a transgenic animal becomes easier. Although cloning efficiency in goat is low, the ability to propagate genetically identical animals, with a gene or genes of interest, would be important for increasing productivity and ultimately the economic livelihood. In this paper, the potential applications and uses of SCNT technology like production of transgenic goat for production of quality milk and meat are discussed.

A comparative evaluation of four detection tests and the isolation of coagulase-negative staphylococci from subclinical mastitis cases in south Indian cattle

Subclinical mastitis (SCM) is an important condition affecting quality milk production. Several coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS) have recently been identified to be associated with SCM throughout the world. Studies on comparative evaluation of tests to detect SCM or the contribution of CoNS to SCM in India are lacking. This study evaluated 313 milk samples from organized and unorganized sectors in Somatic Cell Count (SCC), Electrical Conductivity (EC), California Mastitis Test (CMT) and Bromothymol Blue (BTB) tests to detect SCM, and correlated SCM status with isolation of CoNS. Considering standard cut-off values, 44.7%, 48.2%, 21.4% and 26.8% of the samples indicated SCM status by SCC, EC, CMT and BTB tests, respectively. Whereas sensitivity was poor (32.86–41.42%) for all the tests, specificity was poor for EC (45.09%) but good for CMT (87.86%) and BTB (84.97%). When assessed by both of a pair of tests, or all the three tests, specificity was very high (>90%) but sensitivity was very poor (14–30%). When tested by either of a pair of tests, both sensitivity and specificity were poor to average (44–57% and 36–73%, respectively). Isolation of CoNS and SCM status correlated in the case of SCC and EC but not CMT and BTB tests. The results suggest that CMT and BTB tests are the best field tests. Furthermore, a combination of tests is not advisable given the high rate of both false and negative results to identify SCM, and that CoNS may or may not play a role in SCM.

Evaluation of Clean Milk Dairy Farming Practices and Advances in Murrah Buffalo Quality Milk Production Technologies

The opening balance (herd strength) of Murrah buffaloes as on 01/04/2012 was 150 heads (32 males and 118 females). In all, 38 animals were deleted from the herd due to various reasons, whereas 54 animals were aded due to new births. The new calvings were well distributed over all the months of year, except during April-May 2012 when no calvings took place. The male:female ratio of new calvings was 1.00:0.83. The closing balance of the buffalo and 38 males, the overall mortality was 3.45% (remale-2.11%, male-6.56%). The overall conception rate was 60.42% (heifer-47.05%, adults-67.74%). The overall calving abnormalities were 22.64%, which included 3.77% dystocia, 3.77% retention of placenta, 5.66% prolapse and 1.89% premature births and still births. The age of first calving, service period, dry period and calving interval were 39.69&amp;plusmn;2.82 months, 213.49&amp;plusmn;26.37 days, 232.93&amp;plusmn;21.36 days and 479.29&amp;plusmn;22.88 days, respectively.The overall live body weights (in kg) at birth 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months of age were 35.58&amp;plusmn; 0.53, 69.43&amp;plusmn;1.76, 126.63&amp;plusmn;3.57, 234.26&amp;plusmn;11.42, 334.62 &amp;plusmn;8.98 and 377.93 kg, respectively. The respective values for females and males were 33.63&amp;plusmn;0.78, 69.96&amp;plusmn;2.46, 126.30&amp;plusmn;4.82, 233.53&amp;plusmn;13.84, 334.62&amp;plusmn;8.98 and 391.25&amp;plusmn;8.84 kg respectively; and 37.53&amp;plusmn;0.71, 68.91&amp;plusmn;2.52m 126.95&amp;plusmn;5.30 and 235.00&amp;plusmn;20.18 kg, respectively. The weight at first calving during the current year was 535.71&amp;plusmn;25.87 kg. Buffaloes produced 82098 kg milk. Overall wet and herd averages were 5.66 and 3.59 kg, respectively. On an average, 62.92% of the total adult females were in milk. The total lactation milk yield, average lactation length, average 305 days yield and peak yield were 2249.40&amp;plusmn;8.46 kg, 316.43&amp;plusmn;08.41 days, 2242.31&amp;plusmn;108.05 kg and 11.01&amp;plusmn;0.34 kg, respectively. The milk analysis of 872 samples revealed fat, SNF and total solids per cent as 7.88, 9.81 and 17.75, respectively.

Qualidade do leite: utopia sem um programa sério de monitoramento da ocorrência de mastite bovina

As mastites continuam sendo um dos principais problemas a onerar a pecuária leiteira, além dos aspectos de saúde pública, considerando-se a veiculação de patógenos causadores de doença em humanos. Sua múltipla etiologia, com o envolvimento de inúmeros patógenos, requer um programa de controle rigoroso para o seu monitoramento e controle de qualidade do leite, pautado em ações diagnósticas e de vigilância epidemiológica com relação a parâmetros que indiretamente associam-se à ocorrência de mastites nos rebanhos, como California Mastitis Test (CMT) e Contagem de Células Somáticas (CCS/mL de leite), de amostras de leite individuais composta de cada vaca, bem como do tanque de expansão, o que permite ainda o monitoramento da Contagem Bacteriana Total (CBT), que tende a se relacionar com a ocorrência de mastites, principalmente subclínicas. Destacam-se ainda aspectos de exame microbiológico do leite e da importância da ordenha como ponto crucial nas mastites, enfatizando aspectos relevantes do processo de ordenha com fatores de risco para a ocorrência das mastites. Baseando-se nestes aspectos, apresenta-se esta revisão, acreditando-se na possibilidade de obtenção de produtos lácteos de melhor qualidade, com o comprometimento de todos os envolvidos na cadeia produtiva do leite, conscientes de que a qualidade do leite depende de todos, valendo-se também os consumidores, que são os elementos finais da cadeia produtiva do leite.

Contract farming and smallholder incentives to produce high quality: experimental evidence from the Vietnamese dairy sector

AbstractIn emerging markets for high‐value food products in developing countries, processing companies search for efficient ways to source raw material of high quality. One widely embraced approach is contract farming. But relatively little is known about the appropriate design of financial incentives in a small farm context. We use the example of the Vietnamese dairy sector to analyze the effectiveness of existing contracts between a processor and smallholder farmers in terms of incentivizing the production of high quality milk. A framed field experiment is conducted to evaluate the impact of two incentive instruments, a price penalty for low quality and a bonus for consistent high quality milk, on farmers’ investment in quality‐improving inputs. Statistical analysis suggests that the penalty drives farmers into higher input use, resulting in better output quality. The bonus payment generates even higher quality milk. We also find that input choice levels depend on farmers’ socio‐economic characteristics such as wealth, while individual risk preferences seem to be less important. Implications for the design of contracts with smallholders are discussed.

Aspects of water quality and quality of products in the dairy industry

The quality water, utilized throughout dairy production, is a decisive factor on the sanitary quality of milk products, should be sufficient and be within the new standards of potability established by ordinance No 2914 published in December 2011, it is necessary, therefore, the adequacy of the treatment system and quality control of the water supply. This article aims show and discuss the technical regulations regarding the control of water quality and the main programs of quality management and food safety adopted in Brazil, which are the factors water that influence the quality of dairy products and the major techniques of treatment of the water supply that must be adopted by dairy industry. Also are reported cases of diseases caused by contaminated water and food.