A case study of hygiene interventions on small-scale dairy farms to reduce bacterial and somatic cell counts in Sheqeras, Albania

Bovine raw milk with high bacterial and somatic cell counts (SCC) may affect food safety and market competitiveness in the dairy sector. This study investigated how a structured hygiene intervention protocol affects milk quality and safety on Albanian dairy farms. From August 2024 to March 2025, five dairy farms of an average herd size of 22.6±2.25 (standard error) were visited bimonthly. Before and after a thorough hygiene intervention, bulk tank milk was tested for total plate count (TPC), SCC, antibiotic residues, Clostridium spp. spore count, and California Mastitis Test (CMT) screening test. The intervention resulted in substantial decreases in microbial load on the majority of farms (p<0.05). The average log10 reduction in TPC varied from -0.89 to 2.40, with 80% of farms exhibiting improved hygienic conditions. As a result of monthly CMT monitoring, SCC levels consistently adhered to European Union regulatory limits (<5.6 log10 cfu/mL) across all farms during the study period. A robust positive correlation was identified between log10 SCC and log10 TPC (r=0.66, p<0.05). Analysis of variance established that CMT sum scores were a highly significant predictor of both log10SCC (F=31.45, p<0.05) and log10 TPC (F=9.82, p<0.05). β-lactams were identified in only one farm (1 out of 35 milk samples in total, 2.9%). Implementing targeted on-farm ten-step hygiene protocols can significantly diminish microbial contamination in raw milk. A significant correlation was observed between SCC and TPC, highlighting the importance of good hygiene practices. This study provides a scalable model for improving milk quality in small-scale dairy production systems.