CU food scientists name state's top milk processors

By Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.

Cornell's Department of Food Science has selected two commercial dairies as producing the highest quality milk in New York state in the annual culmination of the state's Milk Quality Improvement Program, sponsored by the New York Milk Promotion Order. The tests are run at Cornell.

Judging criteria included testing for butterfat and protein content, post-pasteurization bacteria counts within the milk's sell-by date and vitamin levels.

Crowley Foods of Binghamton and Upstate Farms Dairy of Rochester were tied at the top with 84.1 scores. Second place went to Crowley Foods of Albany with a score of 83.6 and Niagara Milk Cooperative (Wendt's Dairy) of Niagara Falls received third place with a score of 82.8. The awards were given Aug. 30 at the New York State Fair.

Each year, random samples of whole, reduced-fat, low-fat and fat-free milk are evaluated by the program, which is funded by the New York Milk Promotion Order, which, in turn, is funded by the check-off money the state collects from the dairy producers and administered through New York's Department of Agriculture and Markets. All commercial milk processors in the state participate.

From July 1, 1998, to June 30, 1999, over 500 milk samples were collected and nearly 6,000 individual tests were run to determine the winners.

Trained testers taste each sample and give it a score, says David Bandler, Cornell professor emeritus of food science, who was the director of the New York State Milk Quality Improvement Program from 1972 to 1997. Now Kathryn J. Boor, Cornell assistant professor of food science, directs the program.

Said Boor: "The dairy industry is the number-one agricultural industry in the state, and, from an agriculture perspective, we want to make sure the milk in our state is competitive in the national marketplace and international marketplace."

Cornell Dairy's milk scored the highest in the state with 88.5 points, but because the university conducts the judging, it is not eligible to be awarded.