Veterinary public health and food safety:
Milk Hygiene: Zoonoses and the dairy industry
Author: Prof Cheryl McCrindle
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license.
Introduction
the control schemes for brucellosis and tuberculosis fall
Within the dairy industry, both direct transmission of
under the Division of Veterinary Services of the
zoonoses to those working with dairy animals and food-
Department of Agriculture.
associated diseases in consumers, are important.
Brucellosis, carried by cattle, camels and goats, is
The regulatory framework for the import and export of
acknowledged as the most common zoonosis. Food-
dairy animals and dairy products as well as food safety
borne pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus and
aspects along the dairy food chains will be discussed..
Escherichia coli in particular but also Campylobacter
Methods for auditing and risk analysis for zoonotic
and Listeria species can have a severe impact on the
diseases,
health of consumers. It is not only the bacteria
tuberculosis as well as sampling methods are dealt
themselves, but also their toxins, which can cause
with.
particularly
brucellosis
and
bovine
food-associated diseases.
Other relevant information
Informal milk production in rural areas is crucial for food
security, but the lack of herd health as well as
pasteurisation increases the risk
for consumers.
Outbreaks of zoonoses, such as brucellosis, bovine
tuberculosis and Rift Valley fever, can have severe
adverse economic effects at herd level as well as on
national economies, due to trade embargos.
This module considers the implications of zoonotic
diseases transmitted by both dairy animals and milk
products. These include the international (e.g. OIE,
Codex) and local regulatory framework for dairy
products. Even more so than meat, milk hygiene
legislation is fragmented, with most of the regulatory
control falling under the Department of Health, while
 Milk
Hygiene:
Integrated
food
chain
safety
management and quality control
 Milk Hygiene: Welfare of the dairy animal
 Milk Hygiene: Residues and contaminants
 Milk
Hygiene:
impact.
Biosecurity
and
environmental