Advanced Instruments's Fluorophos test system gains unanimous approval as full international standard method - IDF 155, ISO 11816, and CEN
Advanced Instruments's Fluorophos Test System - a rapid, extremely sensitive fluorimetric method for assessing alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in milk and milk products - has received unanimous approval as a full international standard method by the International Dairy Federation (IDF 155), the International Standards Organisation, (ISO 11816), and CEN European Standards Organisation.
As a result, the Fluorophos Test System is today the only three-minute fluorimetric method with multiple international approvals for accuracy over a range of ALP levels, including low values, for milk from cows (whole, semi-skimmed, skimmed and flavoured) as well as from sheep and goats.
The approvals are the result of an extensive three-year study that included the circulation of samples to thirteen laboratories from seven countries - USA, UK, France, Norway, Italy, Netherlands and Switzerland.
The final standards awarding the Fluorophos test system the international approvals were published in April.
Many processors use the Fluorophos system to test pasteurised milk on an hourly basis to consistently demonstrate very low ALP values and show that the milk has been properly pasteurised and not re-contaminated by raw milk.
The system can be used to monitor and verify pasteuriser performance over time, giving plant managers an early warning and detection system to reduce unnecessary maintenance expenses.
The Fluorophos system provides sensitivity to 0.003% raw milk.
Unlike the Scharer method of visual ALP colorimetric testing (which no longer complies with US Food and Drug Administration pasteurisation testing requirements), the Fluorophos test monitors the pasteurisation of many different dairy products, including cow, sheep, and goat milk, flavoured and cultured products, and cheeses.
The instrument is robust, the cost per test is low, and the system comes equipped with stable, assayed calibrators and quality control materials to assure optimal method performance.
The system is also approved by the Interstate Milk Shippers and AOAC.
The results of the seven-countries study was published in the Journal of Food Protection, 68(5), 2005, pp1047-1053, (Harding F and Garry E, Collaborative evaluation of a fluorimetric method for measuring alkaline phosphatase activity in cow's, sheep's and goat's milk).
