Milk Quality is Increasing

You started with milk production back in the previous regime, since then milk production in Slovakia has undergone a turbulent development. You were there…
My work story began in 1989 when I was offered the opportunity to work at the Prešov dairies. We studied milk for one semester in veterinary school and the exam is considered one of the easier ones. I thought I would never deal with "milk" again. And suddenly I was supposed to work in a dairy. I felt that I didn't know much about milk. My job interview ended with the words: don't worry, life will teach you. You have the basics from school…

So straight from school to milk…
I worked for a month in an agricultural enterprise before military service. That was typical in socialism, you start there and there. It was Chminianska Nová Ves, state property. I was there for a month. Then followed a year of military service, the revolution, and after the revolution, still in that revolutionary atmosphere, I started at the dairy.

The basics from school probably weren't enough…
School gives you some basic knowledge that you have to apply in life, but life itself teaches you what to do. I didn't know the issues of milk purchasing and processing. I had studied what quality is and what affects it, but I didn't understand the relationship between supplier and buyer. As a newly appointed head of milk purchasing, I was entrusted with all milk suppliers with their concerns and duties. Milk production is very demanding in terms of hygiene, and at that time, some had a hard time coping with it. And I was like a new broom… Adhering to the set standards and objective evaluation of milk was always my priority, and therefore some suppliers had to work hard to meet delivery conditions. Only later, when colleagues and suppliers spoke openly with me, did I learn what was happening in the field when I started and what worries some had. I was literally a terror. Milk quality determined the payment for raw material, as that was the fundamental task: to deliver milk and get it well paid. Back then, the standards and payment system were completely different, but the principle was that the quality of milk you have is what you get paid for.

How did you monitor milk quality then?
Samples were taken as they are now, just in a slightly different way. I was appointed responsible for the overall milk purchasing policy, but then it narrowed down to sampling and evaluation. And making payments; of course, I had people around me for that. So I jumped in with both feet… I took samples as specified: samples are taken from proportional and average deliveries, which was not always followed. Milk quality ranged in a spectrum of "360 degrees," from zero to "invisible." Orders started to be made, the dairy management welcomed it, and overall the quality of supplied raw material began to improve.

Suppliers were not happy…
I experienced all kinds of situations. I started to find out where our suppliers were. We had 40 suppliers, about a hundred collection points, and so I began to get to know the wider surroundings of Prešov. I got on a tanker and with the driver, I visited individual farms. I spent half a day riding the tanker truck, taking milk samples from cooling tanks, checking its quality. At first, I often didn't know where I was. But gradually I got to know all cooperatives, all zootechnicians, all chairmen, and slowly I penetrated those secrets. I found out that this one has a friend there and that one there. When milk quality was bad, there was already a phone call about how it was possible that this cooperative had bad quality. There were directives that some cooperatives could not have a grade three.

Even when tests showed a grade three…
Milk evaluation was also done at the dairy, some tests were done there too. A test solution was dropped into the milk, a color reaction occurred – if it was purple, it was "good," light meant "bad"… and sometimes pink glasses were put on there.

"Self-assessment" usually improves results. Were there no independent control measurements?
Yes, central laboratories started to operate. At that time, it was decided that all milk would be evaluated in central laboratories. The sampling system remained, but samples were sent to the laboratory. There were different methods, different analysis methodologies. The classes were the same. That pressure improved milk quality. Since it was done centrally, it could no longer be corrected or changed. We sent samples to Košice. And here the pressure on cooperatives began, and they had to start improving quality. It went on for years until we achieved high quality. Around 1998–99, the evaluation standard itself changed.
 

For example?
Until then, the first class could contain up to 300 thousand microorganisms per milliliter, between 300–800 thousand was the second class, and above 800 was the third, above 20 million was non-standard. Then we switched to the European standard, which required a total microorganism count of up to 100,000 per milliliter.
 

What should we understand by the term "somatic cells"?
The mammary gland – udder in a dairy cow is a high-production organ that constantly wears out through its activity. Dead epithelium – somatic cells from udder tissue – are released into the milk. Their number is monitored as part of quality assessment. In a healthy cow, it should not be higher than 350–400 thousand per milliliter.

Is such a low number of somatic cells achievable?
Currently, farms are at a high level, and 95% of suppliers have no problem with this.

Did the new standard and new evaluation methodology require new, more precise laboratory instruments?
A new device was purchased. Its main advantage was the speed of evaluating measured parameters. Previously, we waited three days because the sample had to be cultured and waited for, and only then were the measured values read. From 2004 or 2005, laboratories were reduced, Košice and Zvolen closed, only the central labs in Žilina and Bratislava remained. These two labs were equipped with the most modern technologies of the time. And we also got a device that evaluates some measured parameters within 24 hours. There was no waiting for cultivation or evaluation; the result was read directly. So we had the result the next day. That was another stage of adapting to the criteria of the European Union. We transferred the pressure to increase quality to suppliers, and suppliers have no other option but to maintain quality.

So strict European standards helped increase milk quality.
Yes, Slovakia's entry into the Union forced compliance with EU standards. And joining the Union was also a significant moment in my career.

Personally for you?
It is an interesting connection with my personal career. Slovakia, as an entering country, had to prove through inspections of selected dairies that they met the conditions for EU entry. We were selected within Slovakia.

Were you appointed or did you volunteer?
Who would volunteer when a team of EU inspectors is coming? I remember a Spaniard, a small guy, who was the inspector, and it was clear that he understood the issue. The inspection was so precise that I would have done the same if I wanted to find weak points. Exactly the same procedure as he. We were the medium for their activity to evaluate conditions. Preparation took several days, and the inspection thoroughly checked us. One of the main points was the input raw material, all control systems, records, follow-up reports, then production processes. They spent 50% of the time on milk purchasing issues. We passed, nothing was found, not a single serious complaint. Slovakia received approval to join the EU.
That was in 2001.

That's excellent. So your dairy also contributed to the fact that Slovak milk can be sold on EU markets. That's really exceptional…
I am proud of our dairy. If I had to evaluate it, we are not the best dairy in terms of size, but we have some bests. And the best is that we were the first dairy to receive a number.

What number are we talking about?
Every approved processor – dairy received its identification number; we have SK 018.

You must have experienced other inspections since then.
Yes, several. Another big inspection was two years later – the milk quota system. Again, it was a mega-commission that came to inspect our payment agency. I felt that all inspections were directed to Sabinov because there is certainty they would go well, no shame. All documents, many data that had to be consistent, control statistics, reports, everything. So we went through that too. We thanked each other for passing so well. So that was the second biggest inspection that could be in Slovakia from the Union.

If you managed these, you probably are not afraid of any inspection…
No, I am not afraid of any anymore. Inspections assured us that we have a good foundation. Of course, there will always be something to improve in technologies and production processes.

These are very important information also for your customers. There is much talk now about dual food quality…
I am glad I can assure our customers that the quality of Slovak milk and products from it has significantly improved over the years I have been monitoring it. That our Slovak milk is good. And that Sabi milk and dairy products are produced under constant quality control, so they can really rely on them from this perspective.