Milk Testing & Dairy Products Testing

Introduction

Milk and dairy products are essential components of the global food supply, providing vital nutrients such as proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals. However, ensuring their safety, quality, and compliance with food regulations is critical for consumer health and industry standards. Contaminants like microbial pathogens, antibiotic residues, pesticides, heavy metals, and adulterants can compromise dairy safety and lead to regulatory non-compliance

Eurofins offers comprehensive testing solutions for milk and dairy products, helping businesses ensure product quality, safety, and regulatory compliance. Our advanced laboratories provide precise analyses using state-of-the-art techniques to detect contaminants, assess nutritional composition, and verify authenticity.

Testing Services

Quality & Safety Testing

Eurofins offers testing to ensure the nutritional, chemical, microbiological, and physical quality of milk and dairy products, ensuring compliance with safety standards and consumer expectations.

Key Testing Parameters

Nutritional Composition:

• Fat Content: Impacts energy value, flavor, and texture.
• Protein Content: Essential for product quality and nutritional labelling.
• Total Solids: Reflects the product's richness and consistency.
• Lactose Content: Important for lactose-intolerant consumers.
• Casein & Whey Protein Ratio: Affects texture and mouthfeel.

Microbiological Safety:

• Total Bacterial Count: Indicates spoilage risk.
• Pathogen Testing (Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli): Ensures safety against foodborne illnesses.

Contaminants & Adulterants:

• Antibiotic Residues: Ensures compliance with residue limits.
• Pesticides: Verifies safety from harmful chemical exposure.
• Heavy Metals: Ensures limits of lead, mercury, and cadmium are not exceeded.
• Mycotoxins: Prevents contamination from mold toxins.
• Melamine: Ensures no illegal additives are present.
• Milk Urea Nitrogen (MUN): Assesses milk quality and cow nutrition.

Freshness & Stability:

• Free Fatty Acids (FFA): Measures spoilage and quality degradation.
• pH & Titratable Acidity: Indicates freshness and potential sourness.
• Shelf-Life & Stability Studies: Simulates product behaviour over time under varying conditions to assess shelf life and quality retention.

Regulatory Compliance & Standards

Eurofins ensures compliance with national and international food safety regulations, including:

• FSSAI (India) – Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011
• EU Regulations – EC 852/2004, 853/2004, 178/2002
• US FDA – Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO), FD&C Act, and GMPs

Advanced Analytical Techniques

Eurofins utilizes state-of-the-art technologies to provide precise and reliable testing of milk and dairy products. These include:

• Chromatography & Mass Spectrometry: These techniques are employed to detect trace levels of contaminants and residues, including pesticides, antibiotics, and other harmful substances, ensuring the safety of dairy products.
• Microbiological Testing: This includes tests for harmful pathogens like Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli, which are crucial for assessing the microbiological safety of dairy products.
• Spectroscopy & Elemental Analysis: These methods help in the analysis of nutrient composition and the detection of heavy metals (such as lead, mercury, and cadmium) in dairy products, providing insights into both nutritional value and safety.

Specialized Services

Eurofins offers a range of specialized services that cater to the specific needs of dairy product manufacturers:

• Dairy Authentication & Adulteration Testing: This service helps detect any dilution or fraudulent practices such as the addition of synthetic additives or the adulteration of dairy products, ensuring the integrity of the products.
• Shelf-Life & Stability Testing: By simulating the aging process, Eurofins assesses how dairy products change over time, focusing on freshness, stability, and how they maintain their quality throughout their shelf life.
• Custom Testing Solutions: Eurofins designs bespoke quality assurance programs tailored to the specific needs of dairy manufacturers, ensuring that all regulatory and quality standards are met.

Consultation & Support

In addition to testing, Eurofins provides valuable consultation services to help dairy businesses:

• Achieve Regulatory Compliance: Eurofins assists in understanding and meeting national and international food safety standards, ensuring compliance with regulations like FSSAI, EU, and FDA requirements.
• Improve Product Quality & Risk Management: Their expertise aids businesses in enhancing the overall quality of their products, addressing any potential risks, and improving consumer safety.

Global Testing Network

Eurofins operates a vast global network, making it well-equipped to support dairy businesses involved in international trade. With facilities across multiple regions, Eurofins can ensure that dairy products meet the necessary quality and safety standards across different markets, enabling seamless export and import operations.