Electrolyzed oxidizing water for cleaning-in-place of on-farm milking systems - Performance evaluation and assessment

The cleanliness of on-farm milking systems directly affects raw milk quality. A four-step procedure is generally accepted for cleaning-in-place (CIP) of milking systems. The steps are: (1) warm water rinse, (2) alkaline wash, (3) acid rinse, and (4) sanitizer circulation. Electrolyzed oxidizing (EO) water is a novel technology in which acidicEO water and alkaline EO water are generated separately by an electrolyzing weak sodiumchloride solution. Because these two solutions match the basic requirements for CIP of milking systems, it was proposed that the EO water can be used as a cleaning and sanitizing agent for CIP of milking systems. Previous studies demonstrated that the utilization of the EO water CIP provided equal or better results than the conventional CIP in a pilot-scale milking system. This research was undertaken to evaluate, assess, and validate this technology on a commercial dairy farm and compare it with the conventional CIP. Results from the Adenosine Tri-Phosphate (ATP) bioluminescence method showed that the EO water CIP performance was as good as or better than the conventional CIP for most ofthe sampling locations and other system components. Moreover, the test for bacterial presence corresponded with the ATP bioluminescence results, indicating the capability of using EO water for the cleaning and sanitizing of milking systems. For one complete CIPprocess, it was estimated that the cost of using the EO water CIP is lower than using the conventional CIP by approximately 25%. Based on the technical performance and economic analyses, this study showed that the EO water had the potential to be adapted as an alternative CIP of milking systems for dairy farms.