Food & Beverage Analysis


Fast, Reliable and Traceable Measurements of Water Activity


Labcell Ltd believes that hundreds if not thousands of the UK’s food producers could be saving time and money by using an AquaLab Series 4TE water activity analyser to complement sending samples for laboratory analysis. The AquaLab Series 4TE is probably the fastest and most accurate instrument of its type on the market, providing lab-quality readings for water activity in five minutes or less, with a resolution of +/- 0.0001 and an accuracy of +/-0.003 aw.


Increasingly food manufacturers are using water activity measurements as critical control points within HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) programmes, as well as for end-of-line quality checks, due to water activity having a significant bearing on food safety, taste, texture and longevity.


The cost-effective AquaLab Series 4TE is robust enough to be used in goods inwards departments, storage areas, production lineside checks, quality control laboratories, pre-shipping inspections, and the development of food products and packaging – and because it is portable, it can easily be moved between locations. The analyser just needs a 7.5 ml sample, which can be solid, powder, paste or liquid, and its supreme ease of use means there is no need for expensive training of operatives.


Decagon’s AquaLab Series 4TE is proving to be a popular addition to the AquaLab family of water activity and moisture analysers, featuring an easy-clean sensor block, compliance with the requirements of the FDA’s 21 CFR Part 11 rule regarding electronic records and signatures, and an optimised user interface. Its built-in temperature equilibration enables users to select an operating


temperature of anywhere between 15 and 50ºC. For each measurement and calibration, the instrument logs the date, time and user. Up to 8,000 data points can be stored securely on the instrument, and data can be downloaded or printed via the USB or RS-232 port.


Labcell is the sole UK distributor for the AquaLab Series 4TE water activity analyser. A PDF data sheet is available directly from Labcell’s website at www.labcell.com or contact the company to request a copy of the ‘Managing by Water Activity’ booklet.


44736pr@reply-direct.com Individual Solutions for Food Safety Available


Salmonella in your cheese or chocolate, horse meat instead of beef as labelled on the packaging, toxic arsenic in rice or high mercury levels in fish - food scandals and warnings from consumer authorities regularly grab our attention. The quality and safety of food we consume directly affects us all. And food safety covers many different facets of the industry. Not only confirming that food is free from pathogens and toxic substances, but also knowing more about its nutritional value and origin – does the product provide a sufficient supply of macro- and micronutrients and do they really contain what they claim on the packaging. And food safety also takes into consideration the health and welfare of livestock and crops through the quality control of animal feed, soil and fertiliser.


A variety of analytical options are available to ensure quality control standards are maintained during the production of food products and to monitor compliance with regulatory requirements. Analytik Jena offers various solutions for a wide range of applications in food safety analysis. This includes a range of Analytical Instrumentation and Molecular Biology Technologies that allow for the determination of nutrients and toxic elements, the detection and identification of harmful pathogens, unethical adulteration and cross-contamination of food products.


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Serial Dilution Bags Greatly Benefi t Microbiological Food Testing


Inlabtec has published a short article that discusses the benefits gained from use of application specific sterile plastic bags in microbiological food testing.


The article compares the now standard protocol of using sample preparation bags for stomaching with how the Inlabtec Serial Diluter makes it possible to now perform serial dilutions in dedicated serial dilution bags expanding the use of bags as a cost and resource saving alternative to test tubes or cups prefilled with diluent.


In stomaching a sample together with diluent is put into an inexpensive, sterile plastic bag which is vigorously pounded by paddles when placed inside the paddle blender. Using disposable sample preparation bags eliminates the considerable labour required to clean and sterilise reusable homogeniser cups, running costs are thus drastically reduced.


In microbial testing, homogenised foods samples are used for viable cell counting where in most cases serial 10-fold dilutions are mandatory. The used test tubes are afterwards washed, refilled with the diluent, capped and sterilised again. This time-consuming recycling of test tubes is nowadays often substituted by using prefilled test tubes or cups which considerably increase purchase, storage and waste disposal costs.


Users of the Inlabtec Serial Diluter have particularly appreciated that dilutions are considerably simplified and that the costs to undertake microbiological sample preparations greatly reduced. By using Serial Dilution Bags, the entire dilution process is now much less labour intensive and time-consuming, key contributions to a more comfortable and stress-free working environment.


With a simple press of a button, Inlabtec Serial Diluter users are routinely able to obtain perfect dilutions leading to improved accuracy and precision of their testing results with minimal waste produced.


In the same way that the stomacher became the standard method for sample preparation already many labs are successfully working with the Serial Diluter. Many of these users are ISO 17025 accredited labs who are benefiting from substantial improvements in their testing productivity and the quality of their food testing results as well as to manage their responsibilities towards employees and the environment.


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