QUALITY AND SAFETY OF RAW COW’S MILK IN SLOVAKIA IN 2011

The quality and safety of raw cow’s milk is very important for dairy companies and consumers of milk products. Due to the methods of production, it is impossible to completely eliminate contamination of milk with microorganisms, therefore the microbial content of milk is a major feature in determining its quality. Other important factors to consider include somatic cells count, veterinary drug residues, milk composition and freezing point. Somatic cells represent the udder health and can be used for monitoring of subclinical mastitis. A high level of somatic cells can increase proteolysis in milk which affects technological processes. Veterinary drugs administered to cows may lead to residues in the milk which are harmful to humans. The content of fat, protein and solids-non-fat are