Our Project: Raw Milk
This year's theme is about food safety. We each made a list of foods to study. Since more than one of us had milk on the list, we chose milk. Since most everyone drinks milk, if something happened to it, a lot of people would get sick.

Journey of Raw Milk:
Ground
Naturally made in the cow

Harvest
Milked

Processing
Cooled to 36 to 38 degrees - Stored for 1 day

Distribution
Cow share owners go to farm, put milk in jugs to take home.
(Travels in vehicle in cooler)

Preparation
Keep in fridge at 40 degrees or less. Good for 7 – 14 days for drinking.

Our Problem:
Cow Udders not being cleaned enough before milking. Bad bacteria is carried on the udders.

We have a robotic solution. Humans can be forgetful or lazy or don't get around the udder well enough. The Cow Wash is all programmed to be a good worker and good aim-er. In the milking station, from the ground, a sprayer comes up and sprays the udder with water and sanitizer which destroys bad bacteria. It has a sensor that tracks the cows' movement so it gets the whole udder. Then a big Norwex Microfiber towel comes up and massagers under the towel dry the udder. Norwex Microfiber has an antibacterial agent embedded in the microfiber which immediately begins to break down the bacteria that are trapped in the cloth. Next, a big bowl of iodine comes up and dips the teats completely. Then a the same microfiber towel comes up and dries off the udder.  Our soultion would cost $5,000 - $10,000 to implement.