Soleris shelf-life test quicker than conventional means
faster than conventional test methods in determining the shelf-life
of pasteurised milk.
Centrus, the company behind the technology, also claims that the survey demonstrates that it can provide rapid, accurate test results within 38 hours, as opposed to more than eight to nine days, allowing dairies to ensure the highest quality through the shelf life of their product.
Consumer demand for maximum freshness has driven the need for a more rapid method to accurately test the shelf-life of milk. For over 30 years, microbiological estimates have been used as the standard for measuring the shelf-life of milk.
Shelf-life, defined as the period between processing and the time milk becomes unacceptable to consumers due to taste or odour, is adversely affected by microbial contamination.
The results of the study, conducted by the Mississippi state university department of food science, nutrition and health promotion, show that Soleris technology, formerly called Biosys, is more effective than the conventionally used Moseley Keeping-Quality test in indicating the shelf-life of milk.
"For decades, dairies have been relying on conventional plating methods to estimate the shelf-life of milk," said Dr C.H. White, professor of dairy foods, Mississippi State University. "Soleris technology reduces the time it takes to determine the shelf-life of milk, allowing dairies to ensure the highest level of quality possible."
Centrus says that the Moseley test takes inherently longer to predict the shelf-life of milk because it relies on a long pre-incubation, followed by a conventional plating-based system. This means that it can take eight to nine days to test a sample for microbial contamination.
Soleris technology, however, features an innovative combination of photo detection, ready-to-use assays and advanced Windows-based software. As a result, Centrus claims that the can technology rapidly and accurately determine the shelf-life of milk within 38 hours.
"This rapid and accurate technology provides a more effective way for dairies to detect and troubleshoot microbial contamination present in their manufacturing operations," said Dr. Ruth Eden, chief scientific officer, Centrus International.
"Rapid elimination of microbial contaminants in the manufacturing process allows dairies to ensure the production of pasteurized milk with longer shelf-life while maximising customer satisfaction and decreasing product returns."
According to the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA), the most accurate way to determine milk's actual shelf-life is by sensory evaluation, a test for flavour quality. The results of a sensory evaluation can be used to gauge the overall effectiveness of a microbial shelf-life test system, such as the Soleris and Moseley tests.
Mississippi State University experts first determined the actual shelf-life of each sample using the ADSA-approved sensory evaluation. They then ran the Moseley and Soleris tests, comparing the results with those of the sensory evaluation and then to one-another.
