The federal government recently awarded $1.5 million in homeland security funds to a collaborative group from the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Western Kentucky University, and the Kentucky dairy industry to develop a prototype monitoring system designed to ensure the security of milk during transport from the farm to the dairy plant.
Milk’s large batch size, its thorough mixing during processing, its rapid turnaround and consumption, and its high accessibility contribute to its status as a high-risk food, as identified by the Food and Drug Administration, according to the University of Kentucky information.
The focus of the prototype system will be the milk tank openings on trucks. Currently, milk transporters use plastic, numbered seals on the tanker openings, some of which are not tamper evident. And, in most cases, the only way to trace a broken seal and possible contamination is through a driver’s handwritten records.
In addition, the sealing systems are problematic in that they are prone to record-keeping errors.
For more information on the project, click here for the University of Kentucky Web site.