{"id":10642,"date":"2022-10-11T11:40:17","date_gmt":"2022-10-11T10:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fei-online.com\/?p=10642"},"modified":"2022-10-11T11:40:17","modified_gmt":"2022-10-11T10:40:17","slug":"researchers-develop-more-effective-way-to-monitor-milk-production","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fei-online.com\/researchers-develop-more-effective-way-to-monitor-milk-production\/","title":{"rendered":"Researchers develop more effective way to monitor milk production"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\r\n\r\n\"LUBRIPLATE\"<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>

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Researchers develop more effective way to monitor milk production<\/h1>\/ in Featured Articles<\/a> <\/span><\/span><\/header>\n<\/div><\/section>
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Food safety starts with effective monitoring. For the milk production industry, that means carefully monitoring for contaminants at every stage of the supply chain \u2013 beginning with the farm and continuing until the product hits the supermarket shelf. Unfortunately, doing so is easier said than done.<\/h3>\n

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\u201cThe way we monitor milk production today is both expensive and time-consuming,\u201d says Stefano Toffanin, research director at the Italian National Research Council. \u201cIn fact, standard tests can take hours to perform, and even days to get the results.\u201d With the support of EU funding, Toffanin is leading an effort to streamline the milk monitoring process. \u201cOur solution is a self-managing, automatic, integrated photonic sensor that can be used to rapidly conduct routine, on-site monitoring across the entire milk supply chain \u2013 and do so in real time,\u201d explains Toffanin.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>
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According to Toffanin, the MOLOKO < https:\/\/www.moloko-project.eu\/<\/a> > sensor can monitor up to 10 food safety and quality indicators, including the presence of antibiotics and proteins such as lactoferrin. To do this, it uses an innovative combination
\nof organic photonics, nano-plasmonics, bio-diagnostics and microfluidics. \u201cThe result of this combination is the ability to streamline and simplify the process of collecting samples and sending them to laboratories,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Designed specifically for the milk production sector, the compact sensor can be easily integrated into all the typical checkpoints found along the supply chain. \u201cSuch an advanced sensing system has never been used in the extended milk value chain,\u201d says Toffanin. \u201cOur miniature sensor stands out in that it can be integrated everywhere, from the milking machine on the farm to large industrial milk processing plants and everything in between.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only is MOLOKO extremely versatile, it\u2019s also really fast \u2013 the sensor can provide a reliable and complete measure in about
\n12 minutes. This speed not only enhances farmers\u2019 and food-processing companies\u2019 ability to stop contaminants from entering and moving along the food chain, it can even prevent food poisoning. \u201cBy significantly moving the needle in terms of rapid diagnostics, we\u2019re able to take corrective action faster and farther up the supply chain,\u201d notes Toffanin.<\/p>\n

Despite development delays caused by the COVID-19<\/strong>
\npandemic, Toffanin says the project succeeded at accomplishing many of the goals it set out to achieve. \u201cThe strong collaboration, support, and positive attitude shared by all the project\u2019s partners was the key to our success,\u201d he adds. Some of those partners continue to work on the MOLOKO sensor, with the aim of taking it to validation and, eventually, commercialisation. Other partners are involved in the EU-funded h-ALO project < https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/101016706<\/a> >, which hopes to take some of the technologies developed during the MOLOKO project and apply them to a photonic-based analytical tool that local food producers and sellers can use to control the quality and safety of their products in real time.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>
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