The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and today Forestry awarded the contract for the acquisition of high-end equipment carry out the tests deemed necessary for the classification of raw milk on São Miguel Island. This 210 thousand-Euro investment was made by the Institute of Food and Agricultural Markets (IAMA).
 
"It is another necessary measure for the dairy sector implemented by the Region to continue ensuring a rigorous and impartial classification of milk to producers and the industries," stated João Ponte. In this regard, he added that the technological update of the equipment used by the Milk Classification Service on São Miguel (SERCLA) is fundamental for the Azores to remain at the forefront in technological terms.
 
Considering the classification of milk as essential for determining the price of milk paid to producers, the government official stressed the importance of acquiring this new equipment.
 
"The 'MILKOSCAN tm 7' is a new generation equipment based on infrared technology, whose features allow the determination of various physico-chemical parameters, besides those strictly necessary for the classification of milk. Hence, it will enable SERCLA, after the conclusion of the ISO 17025 accreditation process that is currently under way, to provide a series of other tests deemed necessary for the good classification of milk and, subsequently, the adjustment of nutritional practices in farms when needed," said the Regional Secretary.
 
In addition to determining the levels of fat and protein matter, water and contaminants, this new equipment will also assess the presence of lactose, fat solids, non-fat solids, casein, urea, free fatty acids, free fatty acid profiles, pH, citric acid and ketosis; some of which are of paramount importance for dairy farms.
 
The "MILKOSCAN tm 7" has the capacity to process 200 samples per hour.
 
João Ponte also highlighted the progress made over the last 10 years in terms of milk quality indicators, revealing that, the indicators registered on the island of São Miguel went from 3.7 to 8.6 points on a scale that goes up to a maximum of 9 points.
 
Last year, SERCLA tested 154 thousand samples on the island of São Miguel.

Its action has contributed over the years to improving the quality of milk in the Azores, through the use of new technologies such as automatic testing equipment and automatic sample collection, the stipulation of new support parameters and the sending of text messages to producers with the results.