Food Safety on the Farm
The Importance of Healthy Cows
The first step in safeguarding a safe and wholesome supply of high-quality milk is to ensure that dairy cows themselves are healthy. That's why America's dairy farmers provide their cows with safe and comfortable living conditions and the highest-quality veterinary care in the world.
On U.S. farms, dairy cows are provided with specialized bedding to provide comfort, ample space in which to live, protection from extreme weather and the elements and a clean and hygienic barn and milking stalls. This combination of housing features ensures that each cow lives as comfortably as possible, increasing its resistance to disease.
Just as importantly, dairy farmers provide their animals with an extensive range of preventative health care, including vaccinations and regular check-ups - just like parents provide for their children. If a cow should become sick, farmers remove the cow from the general population while it is being treated and do not ship the cow's milk off the farm.
Today we know that proper nutrition is just as important to overall health as is medical care. That's just as true with dairy cows as it is with humans. Dairy farmers meet regularly with not just their veterinarians, but also with bovine nutritionists to make sure that each cow's diet is providing them with the proper amount of nutrients, vitamins and minerals.
Hygienic Milking and Transportation
Today's dairy cows are milked by sterilized machines. In fact, from the cow to your table, human hands never touch the milk and dairy products you enjoy. Instead the milk goes directly from the udder to specialized refrigerated stainless-steel tanks that keep the raw milk at or below 45 degrees Fahrenheit. That low temperature helps to keep the milk fresh as well as safe. This milk is then transported directly to dairy processing plants on at least a daily basis.
Food Safety at the Dairy and the Grocery Store
Ensuring the safety of dairy foods is a responsibility the dairy industry, including dairy farmers and dairy processors, takes very seriously. As such, milk and other dairy products are among the safest and most-highly regulated foods in the world. Working in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the American dairy industry has established a rigorous and far-reaching food safety program that ensures that the milk and dairy products you and your family enjoy remain pure and wholesome.
While effective food safety starts with sound farming practices along with good management at the dairy and retail store, it ends in your home. In fact, according to the USDA, 97 percent of all foodborne illness can be prevented by improving food-handling practices at home. For more information on what America's dairy farmers and processors are doing to keep milk pure, click on the links below. More importantly, for information on what you can do to help keep your family safe, click on the Food Safety at Home link.