Testing Equipment

Website: www.aicompanies.com

Advanced Instruments Inc., in partnership with RAM Mechanical Inc., has introduced the CombiScope AutoLab, a fully automated dairy laboratory sample handling and analysis system.

This new system fully automates the entire dairy herd improvement or payment lab sampling and analysis process from start to finish. The CombiScope AutoLab consists of a RAM Mechanical industrial robot/sample preparation system and one or more Delta Instruments CombiScope analyzers. Company officials note the automation is custom-built and programmed by RAM Mechanical and provides consistent, reliable sample preparation and handling. The system can run samples 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Charm Sciences recently announced the FDA acceptance of the SL3 as an approved beta lactam test method under the US Grade “A” Pasteurized Milk Ordinance. SL3 is a fast antibiotic test that screens milk for beta lactams in 3 minutes, company officials say.

Charm SL3 determines beta lactam presence in raw milk in Rapid One Step Assay (ROSA) strips and requires minimal equipment and user involvement. The process involves adding milk to the SL3 test strip, incubating for three minutes and reading on the ROSA Pearl Reader. The Pearl Reader stores results electronically for data capture, record keeping and reporting.

SL3 already has attained the AOAC’s Performance Tested Method approval status. Other ROSA milk tests include the SL and SL-6 beta lactam tests for the North American dairy market, MRL beta lactam tests for international markets and ROSA tests for tetracyclines, sulfa drugs, enrofloxicin and aflatoxin. Beta lactam/tetracycline combination kits also are available. All ROSA tests can be run on the same ROSA Pearl Reader.

Contact: Dickson Co., 930 South Westwood Avenue, Addison, IL 60101, 800-757-3747, FAX 800-676-0498

Website: www.aicompanies.com

Dickson Co. has released the Dickson TH800 Temperature and Humidity Chart Recorders for troubleshooting hot spots and other problematic variations in temperature and humidity conditions.

Designed for dairy managers, the Dickson TH800 Temperature and Humidity Chart Recorders easily can be moved from place to place during short-term site monitoring and testing. The recorders also feature 8-inch charts, four AA battery operation, user selectable temperature ranges of zero to 50 degrees Celsius and a digital humidity sensor.

Contact: Bill Beard, vice president of sales, ESE Inc., 3600 Downwind Drive, Marchfield, WI 54449, 715-207-2082, FAX 715-387-0125, e-mail: beardb@ese1.com

Website: www.ese1.com

The newest product available from ESE Inc. is the Q5 Product Analyzer, which company officials say saves cheesemakers time, resources and raw ingredients.

The Q5 processes product samples in as little as 5 seconds with minimal sample preparation and a high degree of accuracy. The Q5 Product Analyzer allows cheesemakers to more accurately monitor and control the levels of the various constituents in their products such as moisture, fat, protein, lactose, salt and pH. A faster sampling time means operators can respond to system upsets more quickly, company officials note.

The Q5 can be used to test liquids, solids, slurries and powders and is ideal for use in testing natural and processed cheese, cream cheese, milk, whey, yogurt and butter, ESE officials say. The Q5 is available in a laboratory bench top unit, as an at-line unit for sampling on the production floor or as an in-line unit that tests samples as they are being produced.

“With a typical return on investment measured in months, the Q5 is designed to add value to almost any cheesemaking operation regardless of size,” the company says.

Hardy Diagnostics has released a new thermometer, designed to remain inside the refrigerator, incubator or freezer, while the digital display stays outside.

With a sensor cable nine feet in length, the Exact-Temp thermometer allows the door to remain closed during temperature readings.

The thermometer’s temperature probe is housed in a plastic bottle filled with an insulation liquid — 25 percent glycol, 75 percent distilled water — that acts as a temperature buffer for more accurate readings.

Other features include a digital display that can be set to either Celsius or Fahrenheit and an audible and programmable temperature alarm feature.

Contact: Hardy Diagnostics, 1430 West McCoy Lane, Santa Maria, CA 93455, 800-266-2222, FAX 805-346-2760, e-mail: sales@hardydiagnostics.com

Website: www.hardydiagnostics.com

Hardy Diagnostics has introduced the new Gram Stain Kit — Advanced for accurate bacterial identification. Company officials say the kit features improved reagents for better staining quality, including Advanced Crystal Violet, which provides brighter staining of Gram-positive organisms especially those that decolorize easily.

The new advanced system helps guard against over-decolorization and mistaking an organism for Gram-negative. Company officials say it is especially useful when examining anaerobic bacteria, which traditionally have been difficult to stain.

Additionally, the kit’s Advanced Safranin counterstain produces a deep red color and provides enhanced contrast between Gram-positive organisms in a mixed field while the outer edges of Gram-negative bacteria appear more crisp and clearly defined.

The Gram Stain Kit — Advanced comes with pre-mixed and ready to use stabilized iodine, which is less sensitive to light and has a longer shelf life than non-stabilitzed iodine. The kit also comes with the recommended fast decolorizer.

In addition, Hardy Diagnostics has introduced the new Exact-Temp thermometer. The thermometer stays inside the refrigerator, incubator or freezer while a 9-foot sensor cable connects the digital display which can be read from the outside, eliminating the need to open the door to take daily temperature readings.

The temperature probe is in a plastic bottle with an insulating liquid (25 percent glycol, 75 percent distilled water) which acts as a temperature buffer for more accurate readings. The digital display can be set to either Celsius or Fahrenheit.

The thermometer comes with an audible and programmable minimum and maximum temperature alarm feature, immediately sounding if a piece of equipment drifts out of temperature range. Each Exact-Temp thermometer is N.I.S.T.-certified and comes with a certificate. It is powered by AAA batteries, which are included.

Also New from Hardy Diagnostics is a Listeria Indicator Broth for use by the food processing industry.

A simple color change from yellow to brown or black provides presumptive positive results within 30 hours. The testing method is 98 percent sensitive and 99 percent specific and provides comparable results to USDA methods, the company says.

Website: www.idexx.com/dairy/snap

IDEXX Laboratories has launched a new version of its milk residue screening test kit.

According to IDEXX, the SNAP Tetracycline Test Kit’s sensitivities have been refined to detect antibiotic concentrations more in line with FDA tolerance levels and European maximum residues limits, resulting in fewer subviolative particles and a lower risk of discarding safe milk. In addition, the protocol steps are completed in less than 10 minutes — five minutes for incubation and four minutes for color development.

“IDEXX is committed to meeting the market’s demand for more efficient dairy testing that reduces the incidence of unnecessary milk dumping,” says Tove Rasmussen, general manager, IDEXX Dairy. “Therefore, we are pleased to offer this enhanced method of screening for tetracycline drug residues while delivering the same accuracy and ease of use as all our SNAP dairy testing products.”

The new test kit allows dairy producers and processors to detect tetracycline residues in raw, commingled cow milk at or below 50 parts per billion (ppb), chlortetracycline at or below 100 ppb and oxytetracycline at or below 50 ppb.

“All these factors make the SNAP Tetracycline Test Kit an extremely effective choice for antibiotic residue screening in the barn and at processing plants,” says John Forsee, Eastern U.S. and Canada sales manager, IDEXX. “It’s another practical solution in our long history of dairy testing innovation for our customers and represents an increase in value with no increase in price.”

Contact: Fritz Buss, Nelson-Jameson Inc., 2400 East 5th Stret, Marshfield, WI 54449, 800-826-8302, ext. 325

Website: www.nelsonjameson.com

New from Nelson-Jameson is the PortaSCC somatic cell count test. This on-farm somatic cell count test features a user-friendly format that offers early detection of subclinical mastitis. Color-change on test strips can be compared to a color chart to estimate somatic cell counts or the product can be read with a digital reader to obtain a numerical count.

Nelson-Jameson now offers DQCI on-farm culturing products for the identification of pathogens that cause clinical and subclinical mastitis. Company officials say on-farm culturing is simple and involves a modest investment of time and materials. Results typically are available in 24 to 48 hours.

Soft Serve Test Kits from Nelson-Jameson provide quality and safety control for soft-serve and milkshake products with a convenient, on-site test. The test kits provide everything a company needs to perform 50 coliform tests. Results are available in 24 hours and cost less than $2 per test. The test kits can be used to quantify coliform count in mix, to check cleanliness of soft serve machines, test the quality of product and reinforce good sanitary practices among employees.

The InSite Rapid Environment Listeria Test from Nelson-Jameson is a lost-cost test kit that monitors the presence of Listeria in environmental samples. A presumptive positive result can be established in as little as 30 hours.

Pro-Clean Swabs monitor the cleanliness of food equipment surfaces to ensure food safety and quality. This product is easy to use and interpret — just swab a surface and release the reagent. If certain protein residues are present, the reagent will turn purple. Company officials say this product is ideal for food processors, meat processors, restaurants, foodservice and grocery stores.

Also new from Nelson-Jameson are the ThermoElectron 2-Star pH meters. These meters were designed for maximum reliability and long service life and feature advanced automated capabilities to save time and enhance performance, company officials say.

Nelson-Jameson now is offering a cost-effective alternative to on-farm environmental or ingredient testing. Nelson-Jameson’s compact incubator is economically priced and can hold approximately 40 petrifilm plates or six standard petri dishes. The company incubator uses a standard 120-volt current.

Neogen Corp. has released a new test designed to detect tetracycline residues in milk.

According to the company, the TetraStar dairy antibiotic test complements its BetaStar test for the beta-lactam group of dairy antibiotics, which include amoxicillin, ampicillin, cephapirin, cloxacillin and penicillin. Both products utilize the dipstick method of testing, with the TetraStar producing results in six minutes.

“As tetracyclines have emerged as a second choice of antibiotics to beta-lactams for the management of mastitis in dairy herds in certain regions of the world, the concern over tetracycline drug residues in milk has grown,” says Lon Bohannon, president, Neogen. “Developing TetraStar allows us to offer the worldwide dairy industry yet another simple solution to protect its consumers and businesses.

“Two years ago when we acquired the dairy antibiotics business from UCB, including its popular BetaStar line, we did so with the idea of expanding the business by introducing new products based on market demand,” Bohannon says.

According to Neogen, tetracyclines are not as widely used as beta-lactams, which is currently the leading group of dairy antibiotics. The company expects to see the strongest initial interest from European countries.

Shimadzu Scientific Instruments has introduced the UV-1800, its latest UV-VIS spectrophotometer. Shimadzu Scientific officials say that not only does the spectrophotometer maintain the highest level of wavelength resolution in its class (1 nm), it functions as a standalone instrument or can be PC-controlled with USB memory.

UVProbe data processing software comes standard with the UV-1800 so users can drag and drop data from an optional USB memory stick onto a PC, the company says. The USB interface gives users the advantage of macros and graph functions available with commercial spreadsheet software to reduce effort and enhance efficiency. USB memory saves spectral data, quantitation values and measurement parameters. In addition, it saves parameter settings so multiple users can share one instrument, Shimadzu Scientific notes.

Multiple modes, including photometric, spectrum, quantitation, kinetics, time-scan, multi-component quantitation and biomethod, come standard on the UV-1800, according to the company. The UV-1800 also offers automated security and enhanced instrument validation and maintenance functions.

In addition, the new design includes a 15 percent smaller footprint than the previous UV-1700 for placement close to other equipment, fewer keys that are spaced farther apart for trouble-free operaastion and three display screens — parameter settings, progress status and results display — for clear information and ease of use.

Shimadzu Scientific Instruments is the American subsidiary of Shimadzu Corp., headquartered in Kyoto, Japan.

Contact: Shimadzu Scientific Instruments, 7102 Riverwood Drive, Columbia, MD 21046, 800-477-1227, FAX 410-381-1222

Website: www.ssi.shimadzu.com

Shimadzu Scientific Instruments (SSI) has introduced new spectrometry, chromatography and testing instruments for the food industry.

New from SSI in spectrometry are the FTIR-8400S and UV-1700 for use in food industry applications such as contaminant detection and color measurement.

With dynamic auto-alignment a standard feature, the FTIR-8400S continuously maintains optimal alignment during data acquisition, says the company. This ensures consistent data without the need for tedious readjustments.

The UV-1700 spectrophotometer features a double beam design and a stable optical bench to ensure integrity and trouble-free operation. This exclusive design can accommodate any size or type of sample to accurately measure the color of food products in any form, the company says.

Also new from SSI is the Prominence Ultra Fast Liquid Chromatograph, which is up to 10 times faster than a conventional systems.

The GCMS-QP2010 Plus gas chromatograph mass spectrometer is designed for rapid analysis of difficult samples and determination of trace elements, such as volatile aroma compounds or pesticide residues, company officials say.

In addition, the SSI EZ Test is a universal tabletop tester for the analysis of physical characteristics (hardness, chewiness, brittleness, etc.) of food products.

SSI also has introduced the MOC120H moisture balance, which features a auto-taring mechanism to eliminate zero drift.

Wahl Instruments Inc. recently introduced its new Wahl RM116 Micro-Ohmmeter, a low-resistance tester that can be used in the electrical maintenance of dairies.

The RM116 measures electrical resistances with a DC current. Applications include bond testing, ground bond testing and insulation testing. Its large interactive display informs the operator in real time about measurement. It is designed for outdoor use and harsh conditions, but also can be used in workshop and maintenance departments.