Confidence is vital

Confidence is vital

Milk data registration

The metering technology installed on milk collection tankers allows the quantity of milk to be registered electronically, so that the milk collected can be accounted for without the danger of any mix-up between the amounts payable to different suppliers.
The reliability and accuracy with which the volumes are measured are the decisive factors determining whether metering devices on milk tankers will be given official approval through a “notified” accredited body pursuant to EU Directive No. 2004/22 EC.
In Germany it is the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), the national metrology institute in Brunswick, that is authorised to carry out OIML (French: “Organisation Internationale de Métrologie Légale”) certification of the components of a measuring instrument.
For approval under the Measuring Instruments Directive (MID), the components of the device are required to have OIML certification and the complete instrument must determine measurement values with the prescribed degree of accuracy and reliability.
GEA Diessel has been an expert in officially approved metering devices and plant for decades, and its components are designed to comply with the requirements of these Directives. Both the volumetric metering devices of the IZM-SE™ and IZM-TE™ series, and now also the ZEVODAT-flash™ data capture and control unit, which has been available since the beginning of 2008, are OIML certified.
A measuring instrument that is approved under the MID procedure and regularly checked by the weights and measures authorities allows the supplier, the tanker operator and the dairy to be confident that the whole sequence of transactions, all the way from the producer to the final product, will be carried out in accordance with the principles of fair trading.

 

ZEVODAT-flash™ provides complete
documentation of all processes

 

 

 

Quantity alone is not enough
How much the raw milk supplied is worth depends on its quantity and its composition. The German benchmark price is defined in terms of a product with 4.2% fat and 3.4% protein content. Deviations from these proportions lead to deductions of some 0.3 to 0.4 cents for each 0.1% by which the fat and protein content actually determined deviate from these figures. If the typical measuring tolerance in determining the quantity is taken to be 0.5%, and that in determining the constituents of the milk 0.05%, then on the basis of an assumed daily quantity of 1,000 l, the sum at stake for the members of the supply chain is around €2,000 a year. For a tanker with a capacity of 30,000 l, this makes up a total amount of €60,000. Accuracy in the determination of the constituents is therefore an important prerequisite for fair dealing and a good relationship between partners.
The overall range of tolerance for these measurement values is derived from the representative nature of the samples taken and the accuracy of the measurements carried out in the laboratory. Recognised laboratory devices of the type customarily employed show a tolerance of 0.02% for fat content and of 0.04% for protein.
There are no in-line or on-line measuring systems available on the market which will furnish the measurement values reliably and with the required degree of accuracy directly on the collection tanker during reception. Measurement in the laboratory therefore remains as necessary as ever.
Samples of around 50 ml need to be taken for this purpose. Although it is still standard practice in many countries to take samples with a ladle, automatic sampling systems working on the peristaltic principle have been installed on many vehicles for years already. GEA Diessel offers a controlled hose pump system in the form of its PS3 device. In association with a data capture system such as ZEVODAT-flash™, representative samples are taken automatically throughout the entire reception procedure for the expected quantity of milk. Uncertainties such as those arising through manual sampling are thus virtually excluded. The PS4™ double-acting sampler can simultaneously take a sample of each individual delivery and a cross-sectional sample of all the quantities received during the whole tour. The volume of the tour sample is generally around 500 ml. Thus the daredevil procedure of extracting samples of raw milk from the top of the tanker by hand is a thing of the past.

 

 

 

GEA Diessel components are OIML certified

 

 

 

 

Traceability
The traceability of foodstuffs back to the original producer is becoming more and more a focus of attention in quality assurance circles. The taking of samples of individual and tour quantities serves to ensure such traceability. GEA Diessel is now going another step further with the development of a fully automated sampling system for milk collection tankers. By eliminating the possibility of either deliberate manipulation or unintentional error during sampling, the use of such a system enhances the confidence placed in the process by all members of the supply chain.

The vital features of the “SampleGuard™” automated sampler are:
• Highly representative samples in relation to the entire quantity of milk received
• Avoidance of carry-over as between the samples from each individual supplier
• Unambiguous and unmistakable assignment of samples to suppliers
• Reliable refrigeration of individual and tour sample bottles throughout the tour
• Prevention of any possibility of manipulation
• Avoidance of contamination of the samples through manual influence

Also of importance is the size of the unit, since the modification of existing plant can lead to substantial costs. In conjunction with the intelligent electronics of the ZEVODAT-flash™ system, SampleGuard™ not only provides for the individual control of sampling, but also constantly monitors and documents every case of access to the cool box, and reports it to the operator by means of a protocol (e.g. via GPRS). This substantially raises the threshold for any deliberate interference with the sample.
The special and newly developed system for monitoring the filling of the sample bottles, which is active during sampling from the first to the last drop, is quick to signal any malfunction that may arise in the reception procedure, and so allows it to be rapidly remedied. All relevant data is stored in the data capture unit, and in addition is inputted into the storage medium integrated in the sample bottle.

Creating confidence
The exact procedure by which raw milk is accounted and paid for is laid down and monitored by law. Confidence in the figures is enhanced if manual interference can be excluded. The fully automatic system developed by GEA Diessel for the reception of milk at collection tankers, with its complete registration of any events, offers every possibility required in modern milk logistics.

The author
Hermann Hartmann, Dipl.Phys, GEA Diessel, Head of Department for Mobile Technology and Components

Published in: International Dairy Magazine 02/09

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