Pilot study on physical chemical factors of milk in two farms in Caldas, Boyacá

Milk is a food with a high content of nutrients such as fat, protein, vitamins and minerals. The good practices of manual or mechanical milking in cattle established in Decree 616 of 2006 of Colombia, are a requirement to protect human health and favor the quality of milk, considering its physicochemical and microbiological values.

In this study, to determine the physicochemical parameters in milk such as: density, fat percentage, hydrogen potential (pH), acidity, reductase and organoleptic tests of odor, color and appearance, samples were obtained by manual milking with a production between 10-23 liters / day in 14 Norman, Jersey and Holsteisin cattle without clinical symptoms of bovine mastitis, in two dairy farms located in the Department of Boyacá, Colombia. The results obtained were, fat percentage of 2.3-3.2%, acidity with values from 0.13% to 0.21%, the density was found between 1.030g / ml-1.046g / ml. These parameters may have some variations, possibly due to factors such as nutrition, associated with the quality of the pastures, concentrates and forages, the climate, the quantity of microorganisms, the age of the cattle and the number of calvings. Finally, some of the aforementioned factors are susceptible to improvement,
which will favor the quality of the milk and the best remuneration for this type of small producers.