Brazilian startup Zeit presents milk analyser with 35-second results

Brazilian agri-tech startup Zeit unveiled its portable milk analyser, the Zeit Qualis, at a pre-launch event in Cascavel, Paraná, presenting a device that delivers milk-quality readings in about 35 seconds and operates via a mobile phone without requiring internet connectivity. The presentation, held at Espaço Impulso — an initiative run by Coopavel with Itaipu Parquetec — showcased a tool designed to bring laboratory-grade testing closer to farms and to shorten the time between sample collection and actionable results.

“We brought the laboratory to the field,” said Renan Buque Pardinho, Zeit’s co-founder and chief executive, who holds a doctorate in science. He said the intended users included farmers, technicians, nutritionists and veterinarians seeking faster and more precise information.

The Zeit Qualis, developed by the Rio Grande do Sul-based company after more than three years of research, measures fat, protein, lactose, total solids and somatic-cell count. It can analyse milk drawn from a farm bulk tank — representing the combined output of the herd — or individual animal samples where producers operate animal-by-animal collection systems. The latter capability allows identification of variation among animals within the same herd, supporting targeted interventions.

• Device name: Zeit Qualis
• Key measures: fat, protein, lactose, total solids, somatic-cell count
• Analysis time: about 35 seconds
• Connectivity: operates via mobile phone without internet; results can be uploaded to a digital platform when connected
• Origin: research at the Federal University of Santa Maria; company formalised in 2020
• Commercial availability: company expects to begin selling the equipment in September

The system is designed to address a common operational gap: the time lag between when milk samples are collected on farm and when full laboratory reports become available. By producing near-instant results in the field, Zeit aims to speed decision-making on feeding, animal health and milk-quality management. The device’s offline function means producers in areas with limited connectivity can still run analyses and later synchronise results to a cloud platform to build herd-level records over time.

Coopavel is participating in trials and evaluations of the technology in Paraná. At the Cascavel opening, Jurandir de Mattos, Coopavel’s feed-area manager, emphasised the potential for technology to raise sector efficiency, noting Brazil’s milk consumption has room to expand and that faster decision-making tools can contribute to market development by improving producer returns.

Zeit originated in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, from research at the Federal University of Santa Maria and was formally established in 2020. The company reports having producers engaged in field trials; the Cascavel event brought university-based technology to producers and professionals testing the device under real production conditions.

Beyond immediate on-farm benefits, Zeit has linked monitoring of milk solids to payment systems that incorporate quality metrics. “If the producer is not producing more solids in the milk, he is losing money,” Pardinho said, underlining the commercial imperative for timely, reliable measurements. The company anticipates beginning sales in September and will likely position the Zeit Qualis to farmers, technicians, nutritionists and veterinarians looking to reduce reliance on delayed lab reports and to integrate milk-quality data into herd-management and quality-linked payment systems.