Joint work between ISO and the International Dairy Federation (IDF) has resulted in an important update of a key analytical standards for the global dairy sector.
ISO 9622|IDF 141 contains guidelines for the testing of milk and milk products with mid-infraRed instruments. These instruments are extensively used in laboratories and dairy plants worldwide. The new version now also fully covers the use of Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) technology, which improves the routine compositional analysis of milk.
Paul Sauvé is an expert at the IDF, and Harrie van den Bijgaart is chair of ISO/TC 34/SC 5, Milk and Milk Products.
Answer: The new standard has been under development for a few years with cooperation from numerous international experts, as well as the manufacturers of the testing equipment.
Answer: While the process has been lengthy, there have been very few difficulties in securing agreement in most areas of this standard. With the excellent cooperation of all involved, the process has been relatively trouble-free.
Still, all the provided input needed to be carefully evaluated before uptake in the standard. Reaching consensus on an optimal description has taken time, but now paves the road to a swift adoption and implementation process for this standard in dairy laboratories.
Answer: The primary product is milk, though many of the principles can be extended to other fluid dairy products such as cream and whey. The guidelines are applicable to cows’ milk and derived liquid milk products, as well as to those of other species such as goat, ewe and buffalo.
Answer: The existing standard was limited to the main components of milk (fat, protein, lactose) whereby this new standard increases the scope to include many additional compositional parameters. Examples are fatty acid composition, added sugars and urea content.
Physical parameters such as freezing point and pH can now also be determined under the scope of this standard. This is possible because of the inclusion of FTIR (Fourier Transform InfraRed) technology and incorporating guidance on the application of spectrum calibration models.
Answer: At the time that the original standard was developed, the application of FTIR technology in routine testing was still in its very early days. Nowadays, FTIR technology has become a common technique offered by several manufacturers of milk testing systems.
Answer: FTIR technology makes use of the full mid-infrared spectrum, whereas traditional (filter-based) technologies only allow for measurement at discreet wavelengths. This allows the user to make use of all of the spectral information available.
Answer: This new standard will apply to and will benefit many milk-testing applications. Testing of fluid milk is conducted to assign value to milk in component payment schemes, it is used to provide valuable herd management data to dairy farmers, and it is used to formulate and monitor production of all types of dairy products.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024