Milk iodine residues after a post-milking iodophor teat-dipping.

When udders were washed before milking, a post milking teat-dipping with a 5,000 mg available iodine/l iodophor induced an iodine residue of 33 to 54 micrograms l/kg in milk. The iodine contents of the first jets of milk were 1.08 to 8.27 times higher than those of average milk. However, the bulk of iodine residues in milk seemed to be an iodine transfer across teat skin to milk. From these data, iodophor teat-dipping cannot be considered as a threat for public health in France.