AMSL Scientific has released a new system from Page and Pederson that quickly counts the level of somatic cells present in milk.
The LactiCyte offers somatic cell counts for fresh and preserved cow, goat, sheep, and buffalo milk in a test time of less than 60 seconds.
Somatic cell testing is critical in monitoring dairy herd health and ensuring quality in milk and milk products. Dairy processors need to know the level of somatic cells present in milk, as high counts are linked to reduced yields, impacts on organoleptic qualities, and reduced shelf life.
At the farm level, somatic cell testing can be used to indicate the presence of mastitis in individual cows, or assessing the entire herd.
Somatic cell counts can also indicate whether medical treatment has been effective, or whether further intervention is required.
The most common test method currently available is microscopy, but some say this method can be inaccurate due to subjectivity, and could require the use of hazardous chemicals.
Others send samples to an external lab, but this can result in delays with results.
The LactiCyte, in contrast, uses a fluorescent microscope technique and magnification approach, and the actual cells counted are recorded by a charged coupled device (CCD) camera and saved to an internal database.
The LactiCyte has a cell counting range of 100,000 to 10,000,000 somatic cells per ml. It is also compact and the immediate results enable fast decisions either at the farm or processing plant.
