Why Does Milk Need to be Tested for Antibiotics When Making Cheese?

The milk that we drink is different from the milk that we use to make our cheese with. There are certain things in milk which cheese needs to include, so if you are wondering why milk needs to be tested for antibiotics before making cheese, there are reasons. There are many reasons why milk goes through a rigorous testing procedure before it can be used for cheese. Let’s take a look at why milk needs to be tested for antibiotics before it is made into cheese.

What Milk is Used?

The most important thing to understand is what milk is used to make cheese. Generally, for cheese, you need whole milk. You need all of the ingredients that are in the whole milk to make the best cheese and you also need the full fat, although today, some cheese are made with part skim milks. There are many different types of milk that are used from all kinds of different animals. There is cow milk, goat milk, sheep milk, and even water buffalo milk. Each one gives the cheese a unique flavor and a unique texture that is caused by that particular animal and the milk that they produce.

Why Milk is Tested

Once the milk that is being used for the cheese has been determined, it has to be tested. One of the biggest things is that before the milk is added to anything, it must be sterilized, and all instruments used must be sterilized also. There should be no outside bacteria entering the cheese, you don’t want to risk contaminating the milk. When the items have been sterilized, there is also a starter bacteria that is added to the milk, and that is what actually ends up turning the milk sugars into lactic acid and helps to age the cheeses. These bacteria included streptococci and the lactobacilli families. If there was an antibiotic in the milk, it would kill it off and that would ruin the chances of making a good batch of cheese.

Knowing what antibiotics, if any, are in the milk that is being used for cheese is crucial. There are all kinds of antibiotics that will actually ruin the cheese making process and prevent people from getting the final product that they are looking for. Understanding this can help avoid problems that may arise when making cheese. At Golden Age Cheese all of our milk is tested for the use of antibiotics and before we make cheese, we make sure it doesn't contain any.

-Written by Viktoria Carella