Moisture and weight assessments provide critical information about content, quality and safety in food. Using a moisture balance will increase food safety in a lab by indicating the presence of microbes as well as levels of acid and water. This can give an indication of how fresh the food is and validate sanitation procedures. A moisture balance/analyzer/meter consists of a weighing unit...
Q: My FOM Food Oil Monitor from Ebro is showing the total polar compounds % result going down, even though the oil I am testing has been used more times. The TPC value should go up as the oil is used more times - what can I do?
The level of dissolved oxygen in wine is crucial in ensuring a long life, stable product which won't spoil or age rapidly. [caption id="attachment_8725" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Dissolved Oxygen levels are crucial in wine to ensure stable and controlled maturation[/caption] Colorimetric (colour based) methods of dissolved oxygen testing - such as with Accuvac Ampoules on a spectro...
Pasteurisation (or pasteurization) is used in a range of liquid food and drink products to kill bacteria, making it less quick to spoil. In milk this process is especially important - a recent study by the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in the USA showed that the risk of a disease outbreak was 150x greater from unpasteurized or "raw" milk than pasteurized milk. [caption id="attachment_8...
Sodium is a mineral required by the body for normal functions, but excessive intake can cause high blood pressure and hypertension. This has lead governments and regulatory bodies to focus on monitoring the levels of salt in foods in order to reduce the risk of these health affects. Canned foods are of particular concern as these often contain relatively high levels of salt. The Horiba La...
Q: I work in food manufacturing and need a digital thermometer for quality control checks. The environment in the factory can be high humidity, may cause the thermometer to be splashed with liquids and may mean people have to use the thermometer with wet hands. What model would you recommend? [caption id="attachment_7409" align="aligncenter" width="204"] The Hanna Checktemp 1 - a simple,...
Measuring pH in food is a useful indicator of consistency over batches for quality control but can also be used to monitor foods where the pH changes over time - for example in yogurt production, brewing or to test the freshness of foods. Standard pH electrodes will often struggle when used in food samples, as the reference junction becomes blocked the reaction time will get slower and event...