Yes, the official upper limit for somatic cell concentration in Australian dairy milk is 400,000 cells/ml. However, milk with a much lower count is considered higher quality.

Australian milk is strictly monitored through routine testing for the concentration of somatic cells – also known as bulk milk cell count (BMCC). Every milk tanker that is picked up from dairy farms across the country tests for BMCC to ensure milk quality.

While the limit of 400,000 cells/ml is generally acceptable, a BMCC of less than 250,000 cells/ml is considered good, and below 150,000 cells/ml is excellent. In fact, farms that win Dairy Australia’s Milk Quality Awards often achieve BMCC levels below 90,000 cells/ml, with the exact figures varying each year.

All safe and nutritious milk sold in Australia has an acceptable BMCC when leaving the farm, and undergoes further process control (through pasteurisation, cooling, pH and water activity), before then being packaged and sold (and eventually, sipped!).

Through its Countdown program, Dairy Australia recommends acceptable levels for BMCC, which are recognised across the industry as best practice. Dairy Australia’s recommended BMCC levels are noted by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ)’s Compendium of Microbiological Criteria for Food, which is enforced by the dairy food safety regulators in each state and monitored by processors.

For more information, visit dairyaustralia.com.au.