LactiCyte somatic cell counting in milk

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Somatic cell testing is used for 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 indicate whether medical treatment has been effective, or whether further intervention is required.

The most common test method currently available is microscopy, but this method can be inaccurate due to subjectivity and may require the use of hazardous chemicals. Sending samples to an external lab can result in delays for results.

The LactiCyte from Page and Pederson provides somatic cell counts for fresh and preserved cow, goat, sheep and buffalo milk in a test time of less than 60 s. Using a fluorescent microscope technique and magnification approach, the actual cells counted are recorded by a charged-coupled device (CCD) camera and saved to an internal database.

The compact device has a cell counting range of 100,000 to 10,000,000 somatic cells/mL. It is suitable for use at the farm or processing plant.