Here’s an excerpt from a recent story on the Zawya website reporting on a United Arab Emirates dairy that uses the latest technology to monitor bacteria in milk. The BactoScan technology they use is so sophisticated that it can count individual bacteria. Their report is titled “Al Ain Dairy installs revolutionary bacteria testing equipment”. We follow this story up with a report on the technology behind it, from our west coast correspondent Gordon Watson.
“18 May 2009 — ‘Bactoscan’ to increase quality control of milk produced at UAE’s leading dairy farm
Photo from BactoScan website.
Al Ain Dairy, the first established dairy farm in the UAE and a leading producer of dairy products, has become the first dairy farm in the GCC to install the BactoScan machine. Officials at Al Ain have revealed that the AED 600,000 machine is aimed at elevating the bacteria testing processes to the highest worldwide standards and will increase the quality control which Al Ain stresses as a key factor in its production phases.
By electronically testing the hygienic quality of milk and bacteria count in less than nine minutes, compared to the 24-48 hours with traditional methods, the machine offers an uncompromising approach to milk testing that is efficient yet accurate. Bactoscan works by separating the bacterial cells in a centrifuge and then staining them and then counting the bacteria in the raw milk electronically.
“In terms of performance and operational efficiency, the Bactoscan machine has already revolutionized how we do business. As the Bactoscan machine works by counting bacteria as single cells, we are now able to obtain results faster as well as being able to guarantee that the milk we produce in the UAE is of the highest quality and meets worldwide health and quality standards,” said Eng. Abdullah Saif Said Al Darmaki, CEO, Al Ain Dairy.
Aside from the newly installed Bactoscan machine, Al Ain Dairy uses the Refractometer and Milkoscan to test its dairy products. Whereas the Refractometer can determine the sugar content of milk, Milkoscan can analyze the percentages of fat and lactose in milk.
Most recently, Al Ain Dairy has announced an 18 per cent growth in sales for the first quarter of this year and gross profits of 23 per cent in the same period compared to that of the previous year….”
Here’s more about the BactoScan technology, from Gordon Watson of Home on the Range Cowshare in Chilliwack B.C.
BactoScan™ FC – quality without compromise
BactoScan™ FC helps you meet your customers’ demands for fast and, above all, reliable results. Built on proven FOSS technology, it measures the hygienic quality of milk by counting the individual bacteria cells in raw milk. A result is delivered in less than 9 minutes allowing farmers to get results the same day and take any necessary action in pursuit of hygienic quality.
As well as providing fast results, BactoScan also supports the milk testing laboratory with a unique range of operational facilities. Comprehensive software, simplicity of maintenance, training, and local support are important elements of a BactoScan solution.
In short, BactoScan offers an uncompromising approach to milk testing in terms of both performance and operational efficiency. Requirements for Good Laboratory Practices, ISO 17025 and other standards are easy to meet with the BactoScan.
The BactoScan method is used for payment purposes and is a valuable tool for monitoring on-farm hygienic status. It has become the industrial standard for counting bacteria in many countries worldwide and more than 90% of all milk within the European Union is paid for based on BactoScan results. Introduction of BactoScan FC has shown drastic improvement in hygienic milk quality.
BactoScan gives you a low price per sample together with a unique reagent concept and safety in sample handling. Raw milk samples can be analyzed directly without prior heating or dilution, which could affect precision. The fact that BactoScan counts bacteria as single cells with high precision rather than colony forming units improves accuracy, repeatability and reproducibility.
BactoScan includes a number of automation features. A Semiautomatic option
BactoScan™ FC Semi-automatic is available for labs with lower sample throughput.
BactoScan™ FC Semiautomatic – quality scaled to fit
BactoScan Semiautomatic makes BactoScan testing available in a form that is ideal for milk-testing laboratories with lower sample throughput. Typically, these laboratories need BactoScan reliability, but not the full complement of automation facilities delivered with the FC model.
The semiautomatic option is exactly the same instrument as BactoScan™ FC, except that the automatic sampling conveyor and stirrer have been removed.
Still in the picture are features such as the fully-automatic sample preparation that helps to avoid human error, the patented method of counting individual bacteria rather than colony forming units, short analysis time of less than 9 minutes and Foss Integrator software.
BactoScan Semiautomatic:
Scaled down to fit labs with limited sample throughput by removing the sample conveyor and some software automation features
Delivers the same quality results as BactoScan™ FC
Employs the proven and documented BactoScan analysis method
National approvals for BactoScan™ FC also apply
Can be upgraded to a fully automatic model if needed
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MicroFoss™
Rapid microbiological testing of food products and raw materials is vitally important in food production. Through analysis is necessary to ensure that consumers get fresh, uncontaminated products.
MicroFoss makes often complex microbiological testing a simple and cost-effective process. It quantifies a wide range of microorganisms in a convenient way – offering a significant time-saving advantage compared to traditional analysis techniques. Reduced analysis time helps food producers to spot contaminations earlier and avoid product recalls. In addition, products can be released more quickly – reducing storage costs and extending product shelf-life.
During the processing stage, food is vulnerable to bacterial contamination. Shortened screening times mean faster clearance of raw materials and finished products. This helps to:
Increase efficiency in the QC laboratory
Reduce hands-on time,
Improve the implementation and monitoring of HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) programs
Reduce quarantine storage requirements.
The MicroFoss™ system
The new MicroFoss™ system from FOSS is a modular, PC-controlled analysis system for the detection and enumeration of a wide range of microorganisms in food.
The MicroFoss system provides measurements vital to the meat, dairy, food, and beverage industries. These include TVC (Total Viable Count), Coliform, E.coli, Enterobacteriaceae, and Yeast, in both raw materials and finished products.
With screening times as low as a few hours, the MicroFoss system requires less labor inputs than any other products on the market today, thus allowing food companies to improve their surveillance programs without additional staff.
Here’s a link to the website for the maker of the BactoScan technology, which seems to be a German-based company called “Foss”. On their website they claim that 85% of the world’s milk is tested using their technologies.
The Bovine 
Thanks for this informative post. Im pretty sure that many people searching information at this topic . Btw nice blog.
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