Electrochemical Detection of Adulterants in Milk and Dairy Products

Milk adulteration is a critical food safety issue involving chemical contaminants like boric acid, starch, urea, and anionic detergents, posing significant toxicological and metabolic risks. Adulterated milk can cause gastrointestinal distress, kidney damage, hormonal imbalance, and long-term toxicological effects in humans.

Advanced electrochemical sensing, utilizing miniaturized Screen-Printed Electrodes (SPEs), enables molecular-level detection through voltammetric and impedimetric responses. Functionalized with redox-active enzymes or nanocomposites, these sensors detect physicochemical deviations such as pH shifts, oxidation peaks, and ionic conductivity in raw milk, yogurt, and processed dairy matrices. Such unregulated adulteration undermines regulatory compliance and consumer health. Deploying rapid, point-of-care diagnostic tools is essential for ensuring quality assurance, enhancing traceability, and reinforcing food safety standards.

Alphaion develops field-deployable, nanomaterial-integrated SPE systems fabricated via conductive inkjet printing. Their scalable, real-time sensing platforms support embedded diagnostics across milk value chains—bridging analytical chemistry with IoT-enabled food monitoring for robust adulteration control.