6 °C appears in two separate places in the raw milk rules, and mixing them up breaks the route plan. Article 55 of Turkey's regulation on specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin covers the farm and the road; Article 57 covers acceptance at the processing plant. The four-hour exception belongs only to the second part.
Farm and road: Article 55
Milk is cooled immediately after milking: to at most 8 °C if it is collected daily, to at most 6 °C if it is not. The cold chain is kept in transit and the milk arrives at the plant at no more than 10 °C. If the milk meets the Article 56 criteria and is processed within 2 hours of milking, or the Ministry has authorised a higher temperature for technological reasons, these requirements do not apply.
Acceptance at the plant: Article 57
On accepting the milk, the plant rapidly cools it to 6 °C or below and keeps it there until processing; colostrum may be frozen instead. The cooling may be skipped in three cases: the milk is processed immediately after milking, it is processed within 4 hours of acceptance, or the Ministry has authorised a higher temperature.
The Turkish text does not spell out where the four hours start; EU Regulation 853/2004, which it was drafted in parallel with, says 'within four hours of acceptance at the processing establishment'. The clock starts at intake, so it adds no time to the collection round. What limits the round is the 10 °C arrival requirement.
| Stage | Milk at most |
|---|---|
| After milking, daily collection | 8 °C |
| After milking, non-daily collection | 6 °C |
| Arrival at the plant | 10 °C |
| After acceptance, if not processed within 4 hours | 6 °C, reached rapidly |
One of the items counted against the 10 °C arrival limit is time spent on the dock.
The same chapter binds the equipment. Receptacles and tanks in contact with milk are made of smooth, washable, non-toxic material. A transport tank is cleaned and disinfected after each trip or each series of closely spaced trips, and in all cases at least once a day.
