36 Gas Analysis in the Food Industry Explained
As consumer demand for freshness and longevity in the food and beverage industry increases, so does the importance of implementing quality control and product preservation methods.
The vast majority of food products available in supermarkets today will have gas introduced within the production process or stored within modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). Certain gases enveloping meat or vegetables for example, will aid longevity and extend freshness.
Cambridge Sensotec has been working with the food and beverage industry for many years and offer several solutions to monitor MAP and also leak detection equipment. These solutions include:
A fast and highly accurate single gas analyser designed for measuring low ppm oxygen, ideal for applications where the requirement is to analyse and confirm the removal of oxygen content within your process or packaging.
A high precision multigas analyser for measuring a combination of oxygen and other gases including, carbon dioxide, moisture or carbon monoxide. Suitable for the pre-production process, the Rapidox 3100 can be used to analyse and help maintain a combination of gases within food or containers.
Standard features on the Rapidox analyses include fully programmable alarm circuits, programmable analogue outputs (0-10V and 4-20mA), easy calibration (user selectable gases), RS232 / RS485 communications and complete data-logging software. Useful for integrating into a production process and imperative for food health standards traceability in being able to record incremental date stamped data for quality control record keeping.
Cambridge Sensotec also supply the WITT Oxybaby, an O2 (dual gas CO2 model also available) packing gas analyser specifically designed for the measurement of head space within modified atmospheres in food packaging (MAP).
The new DynaSNACK leak tester from Dynascan is a very effective, simple and easy to use leak detection solution designed for detecting leaks in food and drink packaging. It is excellent for increasing product lifespan and avoiding unnecessary production wastage.
42054pr@reply-direct.com New Software Revolutionises Drop Shape Analysis for Contact Angle Measurement
Krüss presented a completely new image evaluation algorithm for contact angles in the ADVANCE software at the European Coatings Show 2017 in Nuremberg (Germany) from 4 to 6 April. For analysing wetting and adhesion, the software detects the drop shape and the interface between drop and surface (base line), even in the face of severe interference, which can be caused by extraneous light or shadows, for example. With conventional software, these cases make evaluation difficult, whereas ADVANCE can almost always carry it out automatically, which makes the measurement of contact angles faster. Furthermore, the analysis becomes less dependent on the user, as manual intervention is no longer required.
The effectiveness of the software becomes particularly noticeable with position-dependent wetting measurements, for instance when checking the homogeneity of a coating or cleaning process. In this case, drops are frequently dosed onto a number of sample positions in a rectangular matrix. Therefore, several drops lie on a line between the illumination source and the camera of the contact angle measuring instrument. Previously, drops had to be removed in the course of the measurement to ensure that they did not throw troublesome shadows. The extremely robust image evaluation of ADVANCE makes this step obsolete.
In many applications, such as quality control of glass cleaning processes, very flat drops form as a result of samples with good wettability. This range between 1° and 10°, which was previously technically difficult to measure, is resolved outstandingly well with the new algorithm. ADVANCE is therefore able to detect the smallest inhomogeneities in the course of programmed procedures.
Krüss Managing Director Florian Weser sees the further development of ADVANCE as a milestone in interfacial science. “Over the years, we have worked with a vast number of images which were extremely difficult to evaluate. The achievement is globally unique, and raises the bar for drop shape analysis significantly,” said Weser.
Krüss demonstrated the ADVANCE software with different mobile and stationary contact angle measuring instruments at the European Coatings Show 2017.
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Miniature Inert Solenoid Pumps Provide Optimum Flexibility
The range of Solenoid Pumps available from Lee Products continues to be developed in response to the ever-increasing demands of the medical and scientific industries for components which require less space, weigh less and contribute toward energy savings. Lee’s range of inert solenoid pumps comprises the LPL, LPM and LPG Series and represents a comprehensive range of fixed volume dispense pumps which meet designers’ objectives whilst providing optimum flexibility.
They are designed to provide precise and repeatable, fixed volume dispensing in a small, lightweight package. Features include, a revolutionary port head design that allows tubing connections and manifold mounting which enable designers to test the fluidic system using connections to non-permanent ‘soft connections’. Once the system design has been finalised and approved the same pump can be manifold mounted using standard O-rings and this applies across the full range with 1/16” or 3/32” sized tubing.
The pumps feature inert wetted materials (PEEK) body with a choice of FKM and EPDM as standard elastomers. Options include 12 or 24vdc and the range provides volumes ranging from 10, 25, 50, 100 or 175µL per dispense.
The electrical interface of all Lee’s solenoid pumps features a contoured end-cap that provides secondary connector retention which is compatible with standard AMP connectors. Compatible lead wire sets are available in 2 different lengths of 6” and 24” to suit the application.
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New Multi Sample Micro Osmometer
The OsmoPRO from Vitech Scientific is the newest addition to the Advanced Instruments family of freezing point osmometers. Designed specifically to meet the workflow demands of today’s busy laboratory, OsmoPRO provides rapid and accurate osmolality results with ease and efficiency. Features a convenient turntable design for easy loading of up to 20 samples, where individual tests are completed in 90 seconds using a small 20 µL sample volume. This new osmometer features intuitive touch-screen operation and industry leading performance. It is ideally suited for mid- to high-volume laboratories that prefer to automate osmolality batch testing.
Efficiency and throughput are improved by the user-friendly operation and the on-board barcode scanner reduces transcription errors. The OsmoPRO also generates Levy Jennings Charts for inclusion in your quality control programme. In addition, OsmoPRO connects easily to LIS and data management systems via Ethernet connectivity and multiple USB ports provide the ability to easily export data and other diagnostic log files. Future software upgrades are also available via USB.
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INTERNATIONAL LABMATE - APRIL 2017
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