Quality control is a challenge in seasonal climates
One of the biggest challenges for plants of this type in Ireland is quality control, said Murphy.
“There are times of year when you need to monitor cream and milk quality closely,” she said. “In November and December, when cows are coming to the end of their lactation, the quality of the milk can drop. Cream can have a strong taste from their winter feed.”
Testers at the plant therefore check milk for acidity, taste and stability. Samples are taken before suppliers are allowed to unload milk into the plant’s storage tanks.
There have been problems with the quality of the milk, said Murphy, which were “not acceptable”, and lorries of milk have been refused and sent back to suppliers.
“We did have an incident where an employee at Silver Pail didn’t taste the milk at the initial stage,” said Murphy. “The suppliers had transported milk in a tank which contained detergent. The next test is further down the lane and obviously it became a big drama when the product was tasted.”