Milk Quality Improvement Program Update and Report for 2019

Martin Wiedmann* and Kathryn BoorDecember 2019

*Contactmw16@cornell.edu

607-254-2838

Dairy foods research and outreach at Cornell

• North-East Dairy Foods Research Center (NEDFRC)• One of six US Dairy Centers• Goal is to drive research that expands the demand for NYS raw milk

• Includes new product development

• Coordinates and facilitates research on dairy foods related topics across different Cornell faculty

• Milk Quality Improvement Program• Unique program with a strong focus on applied research and extension in processing plants

that utilize NYS raw milk• Includes workforce development

• Goal is to drive constant improvement of the quality and safety of NYS Dairy products• Essential to maintain and expand consumption and to reduce the risk of food safety and quality issues that

may negatively affect the NYS dairy industry

• Provides dairy foods expertise that is broadly used to grow and support NYS Dairy Industry

On-farm Practices and Raw Milk Quality

Dairy Product Processing, Quality

and Safety

Consumer Acceptance and Sensory Evaluation

Extension Services &

Workforce Development

Advancement of Methods and Diagnostic

Capabilities

Novel Dairy Processing Technologies

Dairy Product Development

A Cornell Ecosystem Supporting the NYS Dairy Industry

MQIP Objectives and Approach

Vision: Improve New York state dairy product quality and safety from farm-to-table to position NY as the #1 producer of high quality dairy products and to assure sufficient processing capacity for raw milk produced in New York Approach:

• Unique program with a strong focus on applied research and extension in processing plants that utilize NYS raw milk

• Includes workforce development

• Goal is to drive constant improvement of the quality and safety of NYS Dairy products

• Essential to maintain and expand consumption and to reduce the risk of food safety and quality issues that may negatively affect the NYS dairy industry

• Provides dairy foods expertise that is broadly used to grow and support NYS Dairy Industry

2019 Project Reports

• Core Voluntary Shelf-Life program and dairy industry outreach• Supp. Project 1: Identifying risk factors for post-processing

contamination in school milk across NY State (Year 1)• Supp. Project 2: Control of Clostridium tyrobutyricum a remerging

concern in hard cheese production (Year 2)• Supp. Project 3: Development and deployment of a rapid response

team that responds to on-farm milk quality issues that affect processing or finished product quality (Year 2)

Shelf-Life of Fluid Milk Products

• Short shelf-life and inconsistent quality affect ability of fluid milk to compete with other beverages

• Products with shorter shelf life may also be more likely to experience quality issue earlier in shelf life if exposed to temperature abuse

• Problems with shelf life can occur through (i) post-processing contamination (PPC) (Gram-negative bacteria) and (ii) bacteria that survive pasteurization (Gram-positive bacteria that form “spores”)

• Root causes for PPC are also possible causes for food safety issues

NYS Milk Quality Improvement Program Voluntary Shelf Life (VSL) Program

• Collect raw milk and processed fluid milk products from virtually all NYS processors

• Hold milk at 43o F and test at initial day, day 7, day 10 and day 14 (day 17 and day 21 for selected plants) for:

• Microbiological quality• Chemical quality (Freezing point, butter fat - initial day only)• Flavor analysis/Milk defect judging

• Provide feedback and support to address root causes for shelf life and quality issues

VSL Program Plant Status and Update

2019 % of goalNumber of samples tested for VSL 411 NANumber of plants enrolled in the program 29* NAPercent of raw milk samples meeting 300,000 SPC PMO limit 90% 97%% of pasteurized milk above sensory score of 8.0 as of day 14 65% 101%% of pasteurized milk below 20,000 SPC PMO limit as of day 14 33% 69%

* 5 new plants in 2019 Year Total no. of plants in programs

No. of plants newly enrolled (in that

year)2015 27 02016 27 2 2017 25 02018 27 1 2019 29 5

Avg. % Samples with SPC ≤20,000 by Test Day (1991-2019 Trends in 5-Year Increments)

Avg. Flavor Score by Test Day (1991-2019 Trends in 5-Year Increments)

Mean Flavor ScoresWeighted vs Unweighted 2019

2019 Fluid Milk State Fair Award Winners

Overall Best Fluid Milk

1st – Garelick Farms, Rensselaer, NY

2nd – Byrne Dairy, Syracuse, NY

Small Processor Award

Trinity Valley, Cortland, NY

Extension Courses - Attendance 2013-2019

623690 704

12011080

809915

572 583 592

871786

590

789

51107 112

330 294219 193

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Total Attendance On-Campus/Partner In-Plant

*10 PCQI courses in 2017, 5 in 2018 & 2019

Program Graduates-All time

14

308

22

Fluid Milk Processing The Science of CheeseMembrane Filtration The Science of Yogurt

Introduction to Artisanal Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts

This course is designed for the artisan ice cream manufacturer and will focus types of frozen desserts, composition and physical properties, equipment, ingredients, sensory, and frozen dessert manufacture.

March 12-13, 2019 at Cornell University.

Conclusions and Outlook

• The number of new, small processors continue to increase • New processors added in 2019 are struggling with fluid milk quality• VSL testing and extension support will be key to assisting these dairy

businesses succeed• Improvements have been made by some processors, however,

many still struggle with post-pasteurization contamination• Supporting NYS fluid milk processors to improve product quality

and safety through novel training programs • Leveraged NYSDPO funding to secure support for one-on-one mentoring of

poor performing VSL plants and for web-based training targeting VSL plants

MQIP 2019 Impact (assessment tool measures)

Number of non-DPO Funding Requests Submitted 6Dollar value of non-DPO funding awarded $2,060,000*Number of courses / class days (hours) offered to industry 43 coursesNumber of enrolled participants 920Total amount collected in class fees $413,183 Number of peer reviewed papers published 5 published, 3 additional

submitted and in reviewNumber of presentations provided

29Memberships in industry organizations 13

* Funding decisions have not been reached for 2 of the 6 proposals submitted in 2019

2019 Project Reports

• Core Voluntary Shelf-Life program and dairy industry outreach• Supp. Project 1: Identifying risk factors for post-processing

contamination in school milk across NY State (Year 1)• Supp. Project 2: Control of Clostridium tyrobutyricum a remerging

concern in hard cheese production (Year 2)• Supp. Project 3: Development and deployment of a rapid response

team that responds to on-farm milk quality issues that affect processing or finished product quality (Year 2)

Suppl. Project #1: Identifying risk factors for post-processing contamination in school milk

across NY State • A number of factors have contributed to the decline

in fluid milk consumption in the US since the 1950’s• The quality of school milk is one factor that may have

long-lasting effects on consumption of fluid milk • Providing school children with the highest quality

fluid milk needs to be a high priority for the dairy industry

Suppl. Project #1: Identifying risk factors for post-processing contamination in school milk

across NY State

012345678

Day 14 Total BacteriaCount (log CFU/mL)

Day 14 Sensory Score

Tota

l Bac

teria

Cou

nt (l

og

cfu/

mL)

Sens

ory

Scor

e

Core Single Serve

Suppl. Project #1: Identifying risk factors for post-processing contamination in school milk across NY

State Objectives 1. Identify key quality parameters in fluid milk packaged in single serve

containers (i.e., school milk) and update an existing predictive model using relevant parameters (e.g., temperature, storage time, etc) to allow for rational design of strategies to improve school milk quality.

2. Conduct in-plant observations, questionnaires and targeted microbiological testing.

3. Implement intervention strategies based on outcomes of Objectives 1 and 2 to reduce incidence of PPC in school milk.

Farm-level Inputs

• Data obtained so far is from processor directly to school, scheduling trial from processor distributor school

• Milk temperature tracked along the distribution chain with submersible data loggers

• Storage time determined via GPS data and fluctuations in temperature data

• Working on incorporating storage times and temperatures into fluid milk quality model to predict which changes can improve quality of milk consumed in schools

Distribution Chain Data

Farm-level InputsTemperature Distribution Data

Data gathered from 3 distinct points in distribution chain• Processor• Shipping• School

Temperature abuse • not observed

despite measurements taken in June

• most likely to occur between shipping and school

Tem

pera

ture

˚C

Time (Hours)

Schools (approx.)

Processor

Farm-level InputsSchool Milk Survey for Kids

• Beta tested survey with 3 elementary school aged students

• Understood survey and were enthusiastic• Associated smiley smiling face with positive

experience/liking milk and frowning face with negative experience/did not like milk

• Waiting on Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval

• Samples will be taken from school to compare student responses to trained sensory panel

Farm-level InputsIn-Plant Observations and Surveys

Mandrels on single-serve filler

• Mandrels (pictured right) • Fail most frequently for ATP swabs• Mandrels did not appear to get adequate

cleaning (no scrubbing, difficult to get to)

• Operator and Engineer Observations• Hold-time due to line(s) being down seems to

be biggest concern, though likely not contributing to PPC

• Other observations likely plant specific• Age of equipment• Location of equipment (for example

valve cluster and filler bowls located next to heating element of filler)

• Microbial and sensory samples taken (in progress)

Summary and Next Steps—Supp. Project 1

• Temperature deviations in the processor to school distribution chain appear to be minor, however more data is being collected – Final distribution data will be used to update existing Monte

Carlo simulations• Preliminary evaluation of in-plant observations have identified

areas for potential intervention strategies (e.g., in cleaning and sanitation), in-plant observations will continue in 2020– In-plant intervention implementation will be completed in 2020

• Major issues around school milk quality appear to be due to in-plant factors

2019 Project Reports• Core Voluntary Shelf-Life program and dairy industry outreach• Supp. Project 1: Identifying risk factors for post-processing

contamination in school milk across NY State (Year 1)• Supp. Project 2: Control of Clostridium tyrobutyricum a

remerging concern in hard cheese production (Year 2)• Supp. Project 3: Development and deployment of a rapid

response team that responds to on-farm milk quality issues that affect processing or finished product quality (Year 2)

Suppl. Project #2: Control of Clostridium tyrobutyricum, a re-emerging concern in hard

cheese production and dairy powders• Clostridium tyrobutyricum is a sporeforming bacterium that can survive

pasteurization and other heat treatments. • Economic concern for the dairy industry because it causes structural and

sensory defects in cheeses• Customers of dairy powders may want low C. tyrobutyricum counts,

particularly if powders are used in cheese production • Control in cheese is expensive and/or involves compounds that need to be

labelled (“egg white lysozyme)”• Cheese makers increasingly test raw milk and may only select raw milk

suppliers with low C. tyrobutyricum counts• Tools are needed to (i) assess value of raw milk with low C. tyrobutyricum

counts and to (ii) help farmers produce raw milk with low C. tyrobutyricum counts

Clostridium spores have been implicated in “late-blowing” cheese defect

• As few as 1 spore/L can lead to late blowing

• Clostridium tyrobutyricum, C. butyricum, C. sporogenes and C. beijerinckii have been implicated in late blowing– Also known as butyric acid

bacteria (BAB)– Defect visible 7-60d after

processing, depending on strain present

Gomez-Torres, et al., 2015

Supplemental Project #2• Objective 1: Characterize C. tyrobutyricum previously isolated

from raw milk in New York State as well as comparison isolates from cheeses to identify subtypes that differ in their ability to cause cheese defects

• Objective 2: Develop an initial Monte Carlo simulation model that can be used to predict the likelihood of cheese defects as well as the benefits of different intervention strategies at the farm and processing facility level.

• Objective 3: Analyze previous C. tyrobutyricum data from a cross section of farms to identify risk factors in order to implement an intervention study to test strategies to reduce raw milk C. tyrobutyricum counts

The challenge

• Seven different species produce botulinum toxin!

Fig.1, Smith et al 2018

Can a single gene be used to type dairy-associated Clostridium species?

• Current status: 349 isolates from farm samples– Isolation via reinforced clostridial medium to

select for Clostridium– Gas production testing via Bryant and Burkey

• Identified a single gene (groL) that can be used to better classify Clostridium isolates– Characterized 323 isolates plus 89 type strains

Assessing groL’spredictive ability

for botulinum toxin serotype

clusters

Yellow: toxin serotypes A, B, AB, and FBlue: sporogenes strains, potentially Group IRed: Group III, toxin serotype C-C/DGreen: Group VI or V, toxin serotypes B and EPurple: argentinense, Group IV, toxin serotype G.

Summary—Supp. Project 2

• Gas producing Clostridia found in raw milk represent a larger diversity than previously assumed– Potential for misidentification

• groL represents a viable single gene sequencing scheme for subtyping of dairy associated Clostridia– C. tyrobutyricum representing 7 subtypes have been identified to

date– Similar tools have been developed for other sporeforming organisms

of concern (Bacillus cereus) and have been used to solve microbiological issues for dairy powder processors

– Essential to support dairy powder exports • Lab media experiments indicate that different subtypes of C.

tyrobutyricum produce varying amounts of gas, next steps are to test these subtypes in cheese experiments

Impacts: Enhancing diversity and quality of NYS Cheese

2019 Project Reports

• Core Voluntary Shelf-Life program and dairy industry outreach• Supp. Project 1: Identifying risk factors for post-processing

contamination in school milk across NY State (Year 1)• Supp. Project 2: Control of Clostridium tyrobutyricum a remerging

concern in hard cheese production (Year 2)• Supp. Project 3: Development and deployment of a rapid response

team that responds to on-farm milk quality issues that affect processing or finished product quality (Year 2)

Background and justification

• With increasingly sophisticated and demanding consumers as well as increased pressure to produce extended shelf life dairy products and to improve processing efficiencies, processors increasingly identify raw milk quality and other on-farm issues as potential root causes of problems– Spore concerns, flavor issues, food safety concerns

• Need for rapidly mobilizable team to address these issues both at the processing facility and at the farm– Will facilitate rapid translation of research– Will inform future research and training

Supplemental Project #3

• Objective 1: Communicate and advertise availability of rapid response team to New York state dairy farmers

• Objective 2: Develop standard operating procedures and formalized plans for the rapid response team

• Objective 3. Deploy team to respond to appropriate milk quality issues

ON-FARM RAPID RESPONSE TEAMResponds to on-farm milk quality issues that affect processing or finished product quality.

Enhances the connections between farm, processing facility, and laboratory to

ensure the highest quality dairy products.

COW TO CUP

RAW MILK QUALITY

Addresses raw milk quality issues (e.g., presence of spores, flavor

defects, oxidation).

RAPID RESOLUTION

Facilitates rapid resolution of dairy product quality issues

traced back to farm level issues.

RESEARCH FINDINGS

Allows for rapid translation of research findings.

EARLY INFORMATION

Provides early information on new and emerging raw milk

quality issues that affect finished product quality.

MARTIN WIEDMANN607.254.2838mw16@cornell.edu

ROB RALYEA607.255.7643rdr10@cornell.edu

ERIKA GANDA607.255.2894ekg43@cornell.edu

RACHEL EVANOWSKI607.255.2894rle58@cornell.edu

NICOLE MARTIN607.255.2894nhw6@cornell.edu

On-Farm Rapid Response Team

Milk Quality Improvement Program

Cornell University358 Stocking Hall Ithaca, NY 14853

607-255-2894

foodsafety.foodscience.conell.edu/mqip MILK QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM

Improving the microbial safety and quality of

the global food supplythrough innovative

research, education, and outreach.

On-Farm Rapid Response Team

Preliminary Discovery

• Determine nature of quality defect

• Review previously collected data

Targeted sample collection and

analysis to determine

causative agent

Farm Visit• Further review of

existing data and practices

• Sample collection and analysis

Root Cause Analysis,

Recommendations and Follow up

Alternative Troubleshooting

Deployment of the On-farm Rapid Response Team

• The MQIP Rapid Response Team has been deployed on four occasions in 2019 (May, July and September):– Included three artisan farmstead cheese makers

• Incidents focused on food safety issues (Listeria monocytogenes)– 2 of the three issues were tied to in-plant environmental contamination– 1 issue was tied to on-farm contamination

• All three issues have been resolved and processors are producing products again

Key Outcomes to date

• Better awareness of Cornell troubleshooting capabilities available to producers and processors– More rapid transfer of Cornell knowledge and technologies

• Capability to rapidly deploy teams to address different issues– In 2019 dairy food safety issues were paramount,

highlighting the importance of this rapid response team for food quality and safety issues in NYS

Thanks for Making Cornell a Great Place for Dairy Research and Outreach!