Alcohol Test In Milk

 Knowledge
by AgriMoon Team - December 1, 20152
Use: test for screening, rapid assessment of acidity.
Advantages: quick, cheap.
Alternatives: Clot on Boiling (COB) test, Acidity test
Principle:
Proteins in milk that has become sour (i.e. because of lactic acid formation) will
coagulate when mixed with alcohol.

Equipment and materials:

1. Test tube.
2. Pipette.
3. 68% ethanol solution (by weight: e.g. mix 68 ml 96% alcohol with 28 ml
distilled water) or 75 % ethyl alcohol by volume (density 0.8675 g/ml at 27
°C).
Procedure:
1) Mix equal amounts (e.g. 2 ml) of milk and ethanol solution in test tube with the
pipette.

2) Agitate by gentle movement and look for coagulation.

Interpretation
Milk containing more than 0.21% acid and milk that is abnormal (e.g. colostrum
or mastitis milk) will not pass the test. This milk is not fit for further processing.