Industry Insights

Nelson-Jameson is proud to partner with Valcour Process Technologies to provide our customers with the equipment needed to inspect a wide assortment of product to prevent contamination. The Shield Allegro is a powerful X-ray inspection system that provides a higher level of inspection over traditional metal detectors.

While metal detectors provide reliable and robust contaminant detection technology, X-ray inspection technology
helps to ensure improved product quality by providing these additional benefits:

• Designed to inspect a wide assortment of packages up to 450 mm (17.7") wide and 254 mm (10") high. Products are typically inspected after packaging but can be inspected as raw product or packaged in a box.
• Detects smaller sizes of stainless steel (2-2.5 mm vs. 6-8 mm), as well as a variety of other contaminants that aren't possible with a metal detector.
• Easy to use, 17" touch screen display provides a digital trail of images for each product

In February I had the opportunity to attend the “Artisan Dairy Producer Food Safety Initiative Workshop” to learn about the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) along with other leaders in the dairy industry here in Wisconsin. It was put on by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association and was offered at no expense thanks to a generous grant from USDA-NIFA. Marianne Smukowski, from the Center for Dairy Research (CDR) and Matt Mathison from the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB) were the trainers for the workshop. The workshop was a brief overview of the expectations that the FDA has put before every business in the food industry, from the large to the small plants. This workshop was geared towards the dairy industry, focusing on the hazards that arise, and how to put a detailed plan together to prevent them. One of the hazards that was of special interest, especially due to the sheer amount of news coverage that it has gotten in the previous months, was the elimination and prevention

The National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS) is scheduled to meet in May 12-17 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and will be considering a proposal for lowering the maximum allowable somatic cell count (SCC) in milk to 400,000 cells per milliliter. The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) has long been a proponent of lowering the SCC threshold to 400,000 cells/ml. The current threshold is 750,000 cells per milliliter. The European Union (EU) and other countries have adopted the 400,000 cell/ml standard, placing import bans on any dairy products sourced from farms with SCCs above that level.

SCC levels measure dead white blood cells in milk, an indication of mammary gland infections. Lower levels of somatic cells indicate higher quality milk. Some federal milk marketing orders have a 350,000 cells/ml threshold to determine milk quality premiums. Dairy processors believe that lower SCC thresholds impact cheese yield, taste and shelf life.

Nelson-Jameson

Nelson-Jameson has been the “one stop shop” for the food processing industry for almost 70 years providing cheesemakers, dairy processors, breweries, food manufacturers and other industries with products in a wide range of categories.  Food processors may be the largest customer for Nelson-Jameson products, but dairy farms are also an important part of our business.  Dairy producers can purchase a variety of products including cleaners, sanitizers, teat dips and udder washes, drum and pail pumps, hose, nozzles and reels, brooms and brushes, milk filters, cow towels for prepping udders, milk filters, needles and syringes, gloves and footwear, and many other supplies.

Producing high quality milk is very important to dairy producers.  We provide a variety of testing kits for on-the-farm testing

Six years ago, I had the honor of going back to school. Before you start envisioning a Rodney Dangerfield ‘80’s movie, I can assure you that it wasn’t that kind of school. Yes, it took place at the renowned party academic institution of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but this was cheese school. The Wisconsin Cheese Tech Short Course, to be exact. I had just joined Nelson-Jameson, Inc. after working in the retail and merchandising industry for a decade, and I needed to learn about the core business of my new employer. So, like many of my colleagues before me, I was sent to Madison for a week of immersive classes provided by the UW’s Center for Dairy Research, one of the world’s premier dairy research institutions with which Nelson-Jameson has always held a close relationship.

Taught over the course of a week, the Cheese Tech Short Course

Nelson-Jameson, Inc. and DSM are proud to announce a new Delvotest® Antibiotic Residue Tests website! Geared towards meeting the needs of dairy farmers, dairy labs, and artisan/farmstead operations, the site features information on an array of kits, troubleshooting tips, and order links.

As part of our mutual commitment to food safety, Nelson-Jameson, Inc. and DSM sought to create a site where users in the Americas could learn more about the dangers of antibiotic residues in milk and how to most effectively select and utilize Delvotest® products to both protect the public health and the economic vitality of their dairy/cheese operations.

To check out the Delvotest® site you can click here, enter “nelsonjameson.com/delvotest” into your web