🧑🔬 Laboratory technician
Also known as: lab technician
Tests fat, protein, acidity, antibiotics and bacteria.
A laboratory technician is a specialist who tests the composition and quality of milk and dairy products in a laboratory. A dairy laboratory technician tests milk and dairy products. Every batch of raw milk is tested when it arrives at the plant, and finished products are tested before they are sent to shops. This keeps bad milk out of the carton.
What is tested: fat and protein (they set the price of the milk), acidity (whether the milk is fresh), density (whether water has been added), bacteria, somatic cells and antibiotic residues. There are simple quick tests. For example, in the alcohol test the milk is mixed with alcohol. If flakes appear, the milk is not fresh and is rejected.
The classic way to measure fat is the Gerber method. It was invented by the Swiss chemist Niklaus Gerber and patented in 1891. Sulphuric acid dissolves the proteins, a centrifuge separates the fat, and the amount is read off the scale on a glass tube called a butyrometer. Today many values are measured by automatic machines. But the technician still takes samples, keeps glassware and instruments clean, records the results and reports if something is wrong with the milk.
How it connects to milk
🧑🔬 Laboratory technician → — → 🧑 Human → belongs to → 🔬 Mammal → produces → 🥛 Milk
Links
- Where they work
- 🔬 Laboratory
- Works with
- ✅ Quality control
- Who this is
- 🧑 Human
- Part of
- 🏭 Dairy plant jobs
Frequently asked questions
What does a lab technician test in milk?
Fat, protein, acidity, density, bacteria and somatic cell counts, and antibiotic residues.
How is the fat content of milk tested?
The classic way is the Gerber method: the fat is separated with sulphuric acid and a centrifuge, and the amount is read off the butyrometer scale.
What is the alcohol test for milk?
The milk is mixed with alcohol. If flakes appear, the milk is not fresh and is rejected.
Similar
🧑🔬 Dairy technologist · 🧑🔧 Maintenance engineer · 🧑🍳 Cheesemaker · 🚛 Milk tanker driver · 📋 Freight forwarder · 🍦 Ice cream maker