Milk under the spectral magnifying glass
The company JTL-BioTec.Analytics of Adlershof develops and markets instrumentation for the analysis of food and medicines
It is proud of its low cost high tech that also smaller firms can afford. Production will soon be starting in India as well.
On his travels to India, Frank Wagner has only bad memories of the long flight, the undrinkable mains water, and the ubiquitous milk laced with melamine and palm fat. Yet his visits to Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat paid off: the Indian company Everest Instruments will be taking over the future production of an instrument that Wagner developed to measure milk fat. Wagner admitted, however, that JTL had long secured the rights to sell the portable spectrometer, called the FatScan, in Europe – “the Indians then supply us with the instruments”.
Spectroscopy for the purpose of analysing all kinds of samples began its rise about twenty years ago. The technology is based on the interaction between material and electromagnetic radiation. Different substances absorb and emit energy at different wavelengths. The infrared spectrum captured by the measurements often allows precise conclusions on the composition of a sample.
In the meantime, spectroscopy has become indispensable for analysing the composition and potential contaminants in food as well. Wagner is convinced: “The advantage is that it’s faster than wet chemical methods,” which are also more expensive because they need specialists.
JTL specialises above all in the analysis of milk and dairy products. Besides spectrometers and osmometers for quantifying mass ratios and freezing points, it also provides services and helps its customers to calibrate the complex instruments. There’s a good reason why milk is subject to stringent control. Inflamed udders can allow the passage of microbes that spoil the yogurt or cheese in subsequent production stages. Transported milk can be contaminated from soiled pipes. For this reason, also smaller dairies and agricultural holdings are interested in the tightest possible control procedures – and this market segment is the focus of Wagner’s company.
“Our sector is home to a number of top dogs that offer spectrometers in excess of 10,000 euro,” said the physicist. These devices stand in major laboratories, for instance of government food inspectors. Smaller companies, on the other hand, generally do not have to analyse so many parameters, so the purchase pays off. They are interested among other things in the fat content, which defines the price of milk. “We want to offer low cost, smaller instruments with stripped down sensors,” explained Wagner. The FatScan from JTL operates with short wave infrared radiation, costs between 1,000 euro and 1,500 euro, and returns results at the simple push of a button.
Wagner also sees great potential for spectral analysis in food and pharmaceutical granulates. Here, his products can detect moisture and determine whether an agent has been encapsulated properly. Of course, food analyses will not completely do away with the wet chemistry laboratory: spectroscopy alone cannot detect all substances with absolute certainty. Lactose and urea, for instance, cast only weak signals in spectral analyses, and a number of substances cannot be differentiated between through physical measurements alone. Sometimes, the way through the laboratory is still indispensable.
By Claudia Wessling for Adlershof Special