Hanna Instrument’s Marketing Manager Gary Parenteau says the HI 84429 was developed specifically for producers and distributors to measure the lactic acid in their milk so they can maintain specific standards.

PD EDITOR: Why is there a need for this product?

PARENTEAU: The need for the dairy industry is a low-cost lab that is simple to use. This machine will give you a low and high range of lactic acid as well as your pH reading and temperature in Celsius and Fahrenheit.

If you look around, you will see a lot of automatic titrators that are a multi-parameter, but this titrator is specifically designed for your titratable acids, in regards to the lactic acid for the dairy industry.

PD EDITOR: What brought about its creation?

PARENTEAU: It was created here at the Hanna Rhode Island Research and Development Lab. It was developed by Dr. Piero Franco, the head of research and development, and his staff, as well as senior chemist Jane Burdick. They got the idea for this machine from the wine industry model that tests sulfur levels in wine.

PD EDITOR: What type of dairy producer do you think this product will benefit most?

PARENTEAU: This product will benefit any milk processor or anyone who wants to test milk quality. It will also benefit smaller dairies because they are going to get a very accurate lactic acid range.

PD EDITOR: How will your product make a dairy more profitable and/or more efficient?

PARENTEAU: You will no longer need to send your samples out to an independent laboratory and wait for results. You can get results in less than three minutes with this machine. It’s small, compact, easy-to-use and you will be able to get quick results. You won’t have to spend your money with an outside laboratory.

PD EDITOR: When was the product introduced?

PARENTEAU: It has been on the market for about a year now.

PD EDITOR: Any products in working circulation?

PARENTEAU: There are several dairies that use this product, as well as two large yogurt companies.

PD EDITOR: How long has the product been in development?

PARENTEAU: It’s hard to say because research and development went back and forth between products. The wine version was introduced in mid-2006.

PD EDITOR: Why the name?

PARENTEAU: That is how all of our instruments are labeled. The HI stands for Hanna Instruments, and the number is the product name.  PD