Cornell's Department of Food Science has selected Stewart's Shops of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., as the processor with the highest quality milk for 2007 in New York state. The dairy earned a perfect score of 100 over a year of testing -- the third perfect score in the program's history. Wendt's Dairy of Niagara Falls took second place this year.

The selection is part of the New York State Milk Quality Improvement Program, based at Cornell and sponsored by the New York Milk Promotion Order. The analytical tests are run at Cornell. The awards were announced Aug. 27 at the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse.

From July 1, 2006, to June 30, 2007, more than 300 milk samples were collected and nearly 3,000 individual tests were run to determine the winners. The milk was first examined when it was received and again 14 days later, near the sell-by date. Microbiological and chemical tests were performed, and trained sensory panelists tasted each sample and scored it based on flavor and stability during shelf life as well as butterfat content and bacterial counts within the milk's sell-by date.

The remaining top 10 dairies in the state for 2007 are: Upstate Farms, Buffalo; Cornell University Dairy, Ithaca; Crowley Foods Inc. of Binghamton; Byrne Dairy, Syracuse; Hillcrest Dairy, Moravia; Midland Farms Dairy, Menands; Mountainside Dairy, Roxbury; and Upstate Farms Cooperative of Rochester.

Each year random samples of whole, reduced-fat, low-fat and fat-free milk are evaluated by the program. The New York State Milk Promotion Order is funded by revenues collected by the state from dairy producers. It is administered through New York's Department of Agriculture and Markets. Nearly all commercial milk processors in the state participate.

The milk quality program began in 1972, and the awards program began in 1997. The perfect score has been earned only twice before: Wendt's Dairy in 2004 and Cornell University Dairy in 2005.