36 ■ QUALITY CONTROL
C&CI
The concept of an
March 2010
‘electronic nose’ is not a
Artificial nose can
new one, but continues
to be developed for a
range of potential distinguish between
applications in the
coffee industry
coffee brands
Research undertaken in Colombia
suggests that an electronic nose can do
some of the quality control work usually
done by cuppers
A
team of chemists conducted at the Almacafé
led by Ken Suslick quality control laboratory in
from the University Cúcuta, Colombia. The
of Illinois in Urbana- results obtained show that
Champaign, have recently the application of an electron-
developed a coffee analyz- ic nose called the ‘A Nose’
er than can distinguish could be used in the coffee
between ten well-known industry for the cupping tests.
commercial brands of cof- The results showed that elec-
fee and can also make a distinction between good as previous batches, or whether prob- tronic nose technology could be a useful tool
coffee beans that have been roasted at dif- lems such as burnt flavours exist in the for quality control when evaluating the quality
ferent temperatures or lengths of time. batch. Variations on the device could also of coffee produced growers who were mem-
Scientists have been trying to develop an find uses in a wide range of applications bers of the National Federation of Coffee
analyzer for coffee for some years, but the such as detecting contaminants in tooth- Growers (FEDCAFE).
task is complicated by the fact that the paste or sniffing out explosives. The report As the researches pointed out, coffee is
aroma of roasted coffee beans is derived on the analyzer appeared in a recent issue of one of the most important beverages in the
from more than 1,000 compounds, many of Analytical Chemistry. world. Depending on the quality control
which change with the temperature and time Elsewhere, in Colombia, at the University requirements of coffee, analysts have devel-
of roasting. Many of the compounds are also of Pamplona, scientists have been working oped different types of analysis of green and
similar to each other, which makes distin- on an electronic nose for quality control via roasted coffee, in order to obtain a standard
guishing between them difficult for methods the detection of defects in cup tests. product for the market.
such as gas chromatography (GC) and A recent paper in the journal Sensors The quality of coffee is influenced by many
mass spectrometry (MS), and also for sen- described a research on Colombian coffee factors, not least on the amount of time that
sors that change chemical properties or
colours when exposed to the compounds.
The new analyzer is a variation on the
Magnetic separators offer high
electronic nose, and uses 36 dyes, each of
performance at a low price
which interacts strongly with a specific com-
pound. The pigments within the dyes include Eriez has provided C&CI with details of a new range of magnetic separators, the
pH indicators, and metalloporphyrins, which ProGrade series, which includes standard magnetic plates, grates, traps and tubes.
are a class of strongly coloured pigments to ProGrade series professional grade magnets are available at three different levels of
which chlorophyll and haemoglobin belong. magnetic strength, enabling professionals in diverse industries to choose the ideal
Droplets of the dyes are placed on a poly- level of protection for their specific application.
mer film about 1cm across and then "With the ProGrade series, Eriez can now offer our customers a lower priced line of
exposed to the coffee vapours. standard products that meet the rigid quality standards they have come to expect from
The volatile compounds in the coffee Eriez," said Charlie Ingram, Eriez’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing.
aroma produce different colours as they "We understand that customers’ needs vary greatly and solutions are not always
interact with the dyes, and Suslick and his universal," said Ingram. "That is why we created three different ProGrade series levels:
team found that different brands of coffee, ProGrade Ceramic series, ProGrade Rare Earth series and ProGrade Xtreme series."
and coffee roasted under different conditions Of the three, the ProGrade Rare Earth series is well-suited for improving product
produced unique colour patterns. purity in general industry and some food and chemical applications, targets small, fine
The coffee analyzer may help coffee grow- and weakly magnetic ferrous contamination. The ProGrade Xtreme series is designed
ers determine cheaply, and almost instanta- for food and pharmaceutical-grade assemblies.
neously, whether batches of coffee are as
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