Jueves, 02 Noviembre 2017 09:19

Portable NIRS sensors enable instant analysis of milk composition in individual samples Destacado

This applied technology uses a portable NIRS instrument for the on-farm measurement of milk nutritional components such as fat and protein content
This technique for the instant in situ monitoring of nutrient composition in individual cow’s milk samples, which obviates the need for laboratory analysis, was developed by a research team belonging to the AGR-128 research group at the University of Córdoba Faculty of Forestry and Agricultural Engineering, headed by Professors Dolores Pérez Marín and Ana Garrido Varo. The portable equipment, which can be used anywhere, takes only tenths of a second to measure major milk components such as protein, fat and dry extract; since there is no need to send samples to a laboratory and wait for results, a considerable amount of time can be saved.

The new system – unlike those which analyse dairy-farm output by batch sampling – enables analysis of the nutritional quality of milk from each animal; as a result, if nutritional parameters are deemed inadequate, dietary measures can be targeted at the individual animals concerned with a view to correcting milk composition.
The device is based on NIR technology, which uses near-infrared radiation to  measure individual products; apart from being fast, the technique is non-invasive, i.e. is has no impact on the product being analysed.
The portable instrument for on-farm measurement of milk composition makes use of data previously transferred from a laboratory instrument using mathematical models. The instrument is linked to a database containing over five hundred reference fresh-milk samples.
The research, carried out in conjunction with the Asturias Regional Agrofood Research and Development Service (SERIDA), is part of a project run by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture Research and Technology (INIA). Further research will be carried out into this specific area of what is termed “precision livestock farming”: the use of sensors in conjunction with information and communications technology in order to improve livestock monitoring and efficiency throughout the production process.


References:
Fernandez- De la Roza-Delgado, B; Garrido-Varo, A; Soldado, A; Arrojo, AG; Valdes, MC; Maroto, F; Perez-Marin, D. Matching portable NIRS instruments for in situ monitoring of indicators of milk composition. FOOD CONTROL

 

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