Press Release: Eurofins Announces New Validated Method for Detecting the Presence of rBST in Liquid Milk
April 3, 2023
Eurofins is proud to offer a new service as part of its dairy testing portfolio. The Eurofins team has developed and validated a method to detect recombinant Bovine Somatotropin (rBST) in liquid milk products.
The use of the artificial growth hormone recombinant Bovine Somatotropin (rBST) in dairy production is illegal in most countries around the world, except for five, including the United States. While there is not a scientific conclusion on the health effects from consuming dairy products produced from cows treated with rBST, there is consumer hesitancy around dairy products coming from cows treated with rBST.
“Our company strives to meet the needs of the industries we serve. We’re proud to offer a sensitive, rugged, and validated method for rBST in milk, a very challenging analyte,” said John Reuther, President of Eurofins Central Analytical Laboratories.
The method developed and validated by Eurofins detects a peptide of the recombinant protein. The peptide is detected utilizing liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometer (LC-MS/MS). This state-of-the-art technology allows for sensitive and accurate detection of rBST at concentrations lower than 0.001%.
By utilizing rBST testing, brands can add a layer of security to product label claims. Dairy processors can confirm that the milk products used in production are genuinely rBST free. Until now, dairy products have been labeled with text stating that a product was produced with milk from cows “not treated with rBST” without any data to support this declaration. This innovative testing will allow for the vague verbiage to be exchanged with “tested free from rBST”. Additionally, rBST testing could potentially boost US Dairy exports to countries that have banned the use of rBST in dairy products.
Contact Eurofins to learn more about this new rBST detection service and how to get started testing.
Contact:
The Eurofins US Center of Excellence for Dairy analysis, Eurofins DQCI, can provide guidance on testing and how to apply this novel approach in your quality control.
Dino Demirovic Holmquist, M.Sc., Ph.D.
VP Business Development
Eurofins DQCI, LLC
dinodemirovic.holmquist@ft.eurofinsus.com
About Eurofins – the global leader in food testing
Eurofins is Testing for Life. We are proud to expand our services and continue growing to meet the needs of our clients. Eurofins is the global leader in food, environment, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic product testing, and in discovery pharmacology, forensics, advanced material sciences, and agro science contract research services.
With ca. 62,000 staff across a network of over 900 laboratories in 62 countries, Eurofins’ companies offer a portfolio of over 200,000 analytical methods. Eurofins Shares are listed on Euronext Paris Stock Exchange.
