Buckle Up for Safe Milk on Wheels

US - For more than two years, University of Kentucky College of Agriculture researchers have been heading up a project aimed at improving food safety and defense measures associated with bulk milk transport.
calendar icon 10 October 2008
clock icon 2 minute read

As an added bonus, their efforts are streamlining the information gathering process associated with farm milk pickups and deliveries. On Oct. 9, researchers demonstrated the Milk Transport and Traceability Security System in Lexington to show the prototype's potential to meet the needs of dairy processors, milk marketing agencies and milk transportation companies. U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers was on hand to celebrate the project's success and talk about its importance.


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"As we've all seen recently overseas, the security of our milk supply is vital to ensuring the health and safety of our citizens"
U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers

"As we've all seen recently overseas, the security of our milk supply is vital to ensuring the health and safety of our citizens," Rogers stated. "Solutions are needed to shore up the food supply chain from natural or man-made disasters, and providing calculated technology investments are critical to solving the challenges we face in defending America from the next attack.

Through the fine leadership of the National Institute For Hometown Security, as well as our valued university and private-sector partners, the Milk Transport Security System is blazing new trails in this arena. This collaborative project will lead to enhanced security and safety for all our citizens, and I am proud to have provided the funding which makes this research possible."

UK President Lee T. Todd Jr. spoke to the crowd about Kentucky's and UK's national leadership in the project.

"I have often spoken about the need for Kentucky to establish itself as a national leader in areas where we can use our natural expertise to develop solutions to complex problems," he said. "This milk safety project, funded through our National Institute For Hometown Security is a perfect example of how we are leveraging the skills, talent and ingenuity of Kentucky's colleges and universities to develop a real-life solution to a pressing national concern."

Key components of the system include a small, user-friendly, handheld computer device a hauler will use to enter typical milk ticket information. The handheld device will provide the hauler with the most up-to-date information regarding pickup scheduling and logistics, among other data. The tanker itself will be outfitted with a computer processor to store the milk data. Other key components on the tanker include a Global Position System unit, locks on the dome lid and rear door, a key pad to enter security codes when the handheld device is not available and temperature sensors for the sample cooler and cargo.

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