RAPID OVER-COOKING AND BY-PASS PROTEIN TESTING

PRO-CHEK is a simple mini-test kit to measure By-Pass Protein (Undegradable Intake Protein, UIP) in roasted full-fat oilseed meals and, in combination with SOY-CHEK, to determine the point of overcooking for roasted full-fat soybean meals for poultry, swine and other monogastric animals.

Proteins and enzymes act like tiny cellular fixed-point thermometers. They have distinct inactivation points for each temperature / moisture / time combination. Residual enzyme activity correlates to the amount of cooking achieved. One key enzyme in roasted full-fat oilseed meals inactivates in the same narrow temperature range as optimum By-Pass Protein or UIP generation. PRO-CHEK measures that activity compared to a color chart for a rapid, easy visual test without service lab or expensive protein testing.

PRO-CHEK is a self-contained field kit that measure by-pass protein or UIP potential of roasted full-fat soybean and cottonseed meals. The results correlate to both animal and lab by-pass protein tests. PRO-CHEK is not affected by gossypol or other protease inhibitors in oilseed meals that interfere with some enzyme based by-pass lab tests but steam or moist heat processes and non-uniform dry roasting invalidate PRO-CHEK tests.

PRO-CHEK can be used also to evaluate full-fat roasted soybeans after all the urease activity has been destroyed. For example, if SOY-CHEK is negative but 100% of the soybean particles are PRO-CHEK active, then the soybeans are roasted correctly to that narrow line between under and overcooking. If SOY-CHEK negative samples are less than 100% PR0-CHEK active, they are potentially overcooked for swine and poultry. Thus overcooking can be determined rapidly and at minimal cost.

PRO-CHEK uses a simple 5-point visual color scale that is so easy to read that anyone can test feed quality in less that 15 minutes! PRO-CHEK is very cost effective and you can carry your “testing lab” in your shirt pocket. Add PRO-CHEK to SOY-CHEK for complete evaluation of roasted soybeans.

Click here to see the PRO-CHEK color scale.