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Dairy Analysis Services

Laboratory testing plays an important role in ensuring safe, quality dairy products. In today’s dairy industry, from farm to fork, it is essential to ensure that dairy products are free of microbial agents, antibiotic residues and other contaminants.

The Agriculture & Food Laboratory (AFL) proudly serves the Ontario Dairy Industry by providing analytical test results for payment, regulatory and research purposes. With over 40 years of experience, our proficiency and scope in dairy testing is of the highest standard. Using approved and/or accredited methods, we can test your products at our premium milk testing laboratory including:

  • Raw Milk Testing (bovine, goat, sheep) and;
  • Processed Milk Products Testing (cheese, yogurt, cream etc.).

Learn more below about our dairy testing services or contact us to learn how our laboratories can meet your testing needs.

Raw Milk Testing

The AFL offers accredited testing for milk producers and manufacturers of dairy products. All of our clients benefit from our excellent industry reputation for providing accurate and timely analytical results for over 40 years.

Our raw milk quality testing encompasses farm bulk-tank-milk and individual bovine, goat, sheep samples. Raw milk tests range from composition, somatic cell count, total bacteria count, antibiotic residues to added water testing. Note, these tests are only suitable for unprocessed raw whole milk.

Our raw milk quality testing includes:

  • Antibiotic Residues
  • Composition Testing
  • Foreign Contaminant Identification
  • Freezing Point Estimate/Added Water
  • Somatic Cell Count
  • Total Bacteria Count
  • Bacteria, and Other Pathogen Detection

Antibiotic Residues

We work closely with provincial legislators and producer associations in the milk sector. We provide qualitative rapid and cost effective testing for the major classes of antimicrobials and other drug classes in raw milk. The following drug groups are available for testing:

  • Amphenicols
  • Aminoglycosides
  • Beta-lactams
  • Macrolides
  • Quinolones
  • Sulfonamides
  • Tetracyclines

Composition Testing

Performed by Infrared Spectroscopy, delivering fat, protein, lactose and other solids.

Freezing Point Estimate/Added Water Testing

Samples submitted for added water testing are analyzed using CombiFoss and/or cryoscopy.

Somatic Cell Count

This is a count of white blood cells present in milk that indicates udder health and milk quality performed by flow cytometry.

Total Bacteria Count

Performed by flow cytometry on the FOSS Bactoscan, delivering a bacteria count.

Processed Milk Testing

AFL offers approved testing for milk producers and manufacturers of dairy products, such as fluid milk, cheese, cream and yogurt, encompassing determination of pasteurization efficacy, microbiology testing, animal species testing, foreign contaminant identification and R & D laboratory services.