Press release

Success of the FOODLAB, portable laboratory for quick tests on milk

• · CDR's FOODLAB system, presented at CibusTec of Parma, was of considerable interest to testing laboratory operators and to dairy companies.
  
• The Functional Tests on FoodLab carried out by the Laboratorio Standard Latte (Milk Standard Laboratory) of the Associazione Italiana Allevatori (Italian Breeders Association) were concluded successfully.

The extraordinary interested roused by the FOODLAB system, presented by CDR on the occasion of CibusTec of Parma concluded on October 27th, confirmed the food industry's need to carry out an ever greater number of tests for quality control on foodstuffs. The FOODLAB system especially distinguished itself because of its characteristics of practicality, portability and accuracy. For this reason, large food companies in the dairy industry have decided to insert the instrument in the milk raw material acceptance phase. The revolutionary system, composed of an instrument that uses a sophisticated spectrophotometric technology and of a series of specific reagents, prepared by CDR research laboratories, makes it possible to equip a laboratory in limited spaces, without profound technical knowledge, at extremely competitive costs.
FOODLAB makes it possible to carry out a series of tests on raw milk, not only for large and small laboratories, but also for medium size dairies and for breeders, who are thus capable of monitoring the quality of the milk produced and the state of health of the animals with extreme ease.

During the period July-October 2001, 2500 tests were carried out to check the operation of the FOODLAB instrument for the determination of urea in milk.
The tests were carried out in the Laboratorio Standard Latte (LSL) (Milk Standard Laboratory) of the Associazione Italiana Allevatori (A.I.A.) (Italian Breeders Association). The laboratory has been accredited since 1997 by Sinal for six tests in the dairy industry, among which the determination of urea. Furthermore, the laboratory's quality system is UNI EN ISO 9001:94 certified for the preparation and commercialization of reference material in the diary industry and for the design, organization and realization of interlaboratory evaluative tests.

The tests were initially carried out on cow's milk and subsequently extended to sheep's and buffalo milk.
The tests gave extremely positive results in terms of reliability, speed, linearity and repeatability of the tests carried out using the FOODLAB system.
The Functional Test Report is available at site www.milktest.com at address http://www.milktest.com/news/report_on_the_functional_tests.htm
The FOODLAB system presently carries out the determination of ammonia, urea, lactic acid and chlorides in cow's, sheep's and buffalo milk and of chlorides in aqueous solutions, used in the mozzarella production line. Furthermore, numerous other tests on milk and on foodstuffs in general are in the advanced development phase .
The methodologies and updates on the tests that can be carried out using the FOODLAB system are available on the site, as well as technical information.

CDR is a facility that carries out applied research in the cybernetics, telematics and chemistry sectors, with experience in the realization of systems for human and veterinary clinics. Today, CDR applies this particular know-how to the development of instruments and reagents for the quality control of foodstuffs, with the perfecting of extremely reliable testing systems.