The Incidence of Oxidized Flavor in the Milk of Individual Cows within One Herd

The rather general occurrence of oxidized flavor in market milk has been indicated by the work of Trout (9) as well as that of Roland, Sorenson, and Whittaker (7). Guthrie and Brueckner (3) have also reported variations in the tendency of milk from individual cows to become oxidized. They found no correlation between breed, period of lactation or age of cow and development of oxidized flavor. Beck, Whitnah and Martin (1) examined 1127 samples (60-70 cows) of raw milk held 3 days at 40 F. and found an oxidized flavor in 11 per cent of the samples. Oxidized flavor occurred in 6.1 per cent of the Jersey samples, 7.8 per cent of the Guernsey samples, 15.8 per cent of the Holstein samples and 19.4 per cent of the Ayrshire samples. Hening and Dahlberg (5) observed a greater incidence of oxidized flavor in the milk from heifers than from older cows.