The Milklipidometric Model: A Mathematical Equation-based on Electric Conductivity to Predict Butterfat Concentrations in Bovine Milk

S. Muyambo; J.A. Urombo; M. Mudyiwa; A. Musengi

Abstract

The milklipidometric model is a mathematical equation to predict butterfat in raw milk and it is based on electric conductivity principle. The model differs from the existing equations in that it uses variables (electric conductivity, and volume fraction of whole milk ) which can be easily measured and it predicts fat at wide temperature, range of 5–60°C. Accurate results can be obtained even using commercial electrical conductivity meters, hence making the method easy and cheap, especially for small and medium dairy farmers in developing countries. The model is effective for butterfat concentration between 0.60 and 5.50%. The model has a correlation of determination R2 of 0.890 and root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.464. Validation of the model using Deming regression, Passing and Bablok regression and Bland and Altman method indicate that the equation is capable of reproducing the butterfat from the validation data (N=32) at 95% confidence interval. Further analysis of the model accuracy and precision showed that the equation has a percentage bias of less than 2.9%, a standard deviation of 0.63% and coefficient of variance of 19.19%. Keywords: Electric conductivity, mathematical modelling, Butterfat determination.Cite this ArticleS. Muyambo, J.A. Urombo, M. Mudyiwa, A. Musengi. The Milklipidometric Model: A Mathematical Equation-based on Electric Conductivity to Predict Butterfat Concentrations in Bovine Milk. Research & Reviews: Journal of Dairy Science and Technology. 2019; 8(1): 10–21p.