Raw milk concerns push demand for detection
levels of alkaline phosphates (ALP) in the dairy pasteurisation
process, presenting an opportunity for lab tech firms such as
Advanced Instruments.
The equipment supplier claims that its Fluorophos ALP Assay can detect minute traces of raw milk - 0.003 per cent - in just three minutes.
This, says the company, compares favourably to the 0.1 per cent success rate achieved by using a traditional colorimetric tube.
The company is also looking at the US market with interest. As of March this year, dairy lab managers using the Scharer method of visual ALP colorimetric testing no longer comply with US Food and Drug Administration pasteurisation testing requirements.
New ALP detection criteria of 350 mU (3 micrograms) per liter (0.075 per cent raw milk equivalent) came into effect.
Fluorophos Testing Delivers Speed, Sensitivity, and Early WarningForemost Farms, formerly Wisconsin Dairies adopted the Fluorophos ALP testing system because of its speed, sensitivity, and because it didn't require any hazardous chemicals that could endanger lab technicians.
"The new ALP test is so sensitive it opens a window on what's happening well below the 0.1% level," said a company official. "It acts as a buffer. It buys us extra time to detect and correct problems."
The Advanced Instruments test therefore meets regulatory criteria on both sides of the Atlantic, and can also analyse a range of different dairy products including sheep and goat milk, flavoured products and cheeses.
The ALP enzyme reacts with dairy products that have been thermally abused and can alert technologists to the problem immediately, reducing the risk of re-pasteurisation and repair downtime.
It was recently approved by the International Standards Organization, the International Dairy Federation, and laboratory test validating organisation AOAC.
The Fluorophos test has an automatic display and also produces a printout of results. Computer controlled calibration ensures accuracy and memory protection in the event of power loss.
A free white paper reviews ALP testing options and explains their benefits to dairy process control and productivity. Entitled "Pasteurization Testing in a Stricter Regulatory Environment," the paper is available free at Advanced Instruments' website.
Advanced Instruments is a supplier of analytical instruments and test kits for the food, dairy, and industrial microbiology markets. The company also produces Fiske Associates brand diagnostic instruments and operates Spiral Biotech and Delta Instruments as wholly-owned subsidiaries.
