The effect of artificial reduction of the somatic cell count, as a violation of authenticity, on milk quality indicators

The somatic cell count (SCC) inraw milk isanimportant indicator ofhealth and hygienic quality. Artificial reduction ofthe SCC (ARSCC) inmilk, for the apparent improvement ofmilk quality for commercial reasons, isanundesirable phenomenon and aviolation ofauthenticity both inthe factual sense and legislatively. Analytical methods need tobedeveloped toidentify ARSCC aswell astoassess the effects that ARSCC may have onmilk. The aim ofthe work was toquantify the effects ofARSCC oncow’s milk asafood raw material. The results presented are some ofthe first onthe given problem. Raw bulk tank cow milk was sampled intwo experiments, each time for the whole year (2021–2022 and 2023–2024, n=66 and n=53, respectively) from herds ofCzech Fleckvieh and Holstein cows, 1 : 1. ARSCC inexperiment 1 (n=66) slightly reduced the fat content, inexperiment2 (n=53) itdid not, otherwise the milk indicators with the exception ofSCC were almost (1) and completely (2) identical. All samples were negative for the presence ofinhibitory substance residues. ARSCC under the specified technological conditions reduced SCC (1) from 772± 906103/ml to376± 630103/ml, by–51.3% (P<0.001) and (2) from 592± 798103/ml to304± 468103/ml, by–48.5% (P<0.001). Under these circumstances, the milk fermentation ability improved (1) from 28.52± 4.72SH to31.0± 4.65SH, by8.66% (P<0.001) and (2) from 32.51± 2.61SH to33.80± 2.88SH, by3.97% (P<0.001). Curd firmness was better for SCC ≤400103/ml compared tohigher SCC by5.26% (P<0.001). Nevertheless, it is not possible, for hygienic and health reasons, to allow such milk for human consumption and it is necessary to find effective identification analytical methods for ARSCC.