Food & Beverages

Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen Headspace Gas Analysis in Food and Beverages Industry

To ensure product packaging integrity and shelf life, many food and pharmaceutical products are packaged using Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP).  Headspace gas analysis offers fast, accurate MAP analysis of headspace in gas flushed food and pharmaceutical products.

Thanks to the advanced features available in the latest Headspace Analyser – automatic calibration; diagnostics and control, the oxygen and carbon dioxide headspace analysers provide the user with ease of use and consistently reliable results for shelf life testing and quality control. Maintaining the quality of a product in the production process whilst maximising production efficiency. Our leading headspace analyser offers versatile testing of different pack sizes and include 10 different models with low cost options. Testing is simple, reliable and user errors are eliminated.

Minimum Sampling Gas Volume vs. Detection Limit

  • To check the continuity and quality of the gas supply to the packing machine
  • To check the efficiency of the flush/vacuum cycle of the packing machine
  • To check the integrity of the pack seal

Headspace Analyser

  • Fresh meat & cooked meat
  • Cheese
  • Vegetables
  • Bakery
  • Snack foods
  • Ready meals
  • Fish
  • Bottled & Can Beverages
  • Pharmaceutical vials & packaging

Analyser to Control Acidification Process in Dairy Industry

The iCinac is the fourth generation of the Cinac system, an instrument developed in the 90s in partnership with INRA (UMR GMPA, lab G. Corrieu) at the request of major french dairy companies.

AnalyserAcidificationDairy

iCinac System for Dairy Product Analysis

It is currently the only system dedicated to monitoring the acidification activity of lactic ferments, which simultaneously observes the change in pH, temperature and redox potential of one or several samples in order to:

  • Determine the acid forming characteristics specific to the phylum studied
  • Evaluate and anticipate its impact on process development
  • Examine the influence of various parameters on acid forming capacity: different media, temperature, etc.
  • Define adequate inocula (mixing of phylum, complementary characteristics, etc.)

Fully Automated Discrete Analyser for Food Analysis

The Discrete Analyser is the most recent analyser among a full range of laboratory instruments, and it has been designed to meet the needs of high productivity while reducing the overall cost of analysis and providing accurate, safe, rapid and standardized results.

SMARTCHEM 450

  • 600 tests per hour
  • 200 samples capacity with continuous loading
  • Automatic startup and calibration routine
  • Unlimited number of unattended tests
  • Barcode reading for samples and reagents
  • No disposable cuvettes
  • Long-life cuvettes with integrated wash & control station
  • Cadmium module for Nitrate analysis
  • ISE module for pH, conductivity and redox analysis
  • Capped tubes
  • New software with touch screen
  • Bi-directional LIMS ready
  • Ready-to-use reagents
  • Green technology

SMARTCHEM 600

  • Alkalinity
  • Ammonia
  • Calcium
  • Chloride
  • Chlorine
  • Chromium
  • Cyanide
  • Fluoride
  • Hardness
  • Iron
  • Manganese
  • Nitrate
  • Nitrite
  • Phenol
  • Phosphate
  • Protein
  • Silicate
  • Sulphate
  • TKN
  • TKP
  • Turbidity
  • Urea

Continuous Flow Analyser (CFA) for Food and Beverage Industry

Taking advantage of a unique, modular design, each Futura – our continuous flow analyser console is capable of running a variety of analytical methods using different CFA techniques.

The integration of a pump, manifold, and detector into each console simplifies manifold changeover. Advanced features like automatic manifold washout and shut down enable ‘lights-out’ operation make the Futura a highly versatile tool for today’s laboratory. Consoles may be linked to run multiple parameters in parallel, doubling, tripling or even quadrupling overall system throughput. In total, up to 12 analytical channels in any combination can be run simultaneously. From simple colorimetric assays to complex in-line distillations and digestions, users can pick from a library of both micro-bore and macro bore CFA methods. Whether your needs are environmental, industrial, food, or wine applications, the Futura can provide an automated solution.

FUTURA Software for Water Analysis

FUTURA 3 Multi-Console System

Innovative method for analysing oxygen permeation

Analyzer:
The Ambient Oxygen Ingress Rate (AOIR) method, can measure the permeability of oxygen through films in finished packaging. The rate at which oxygen passes through a packaging film is a key factor for food products packaged under a modified atmosphere designed to exclude oxygen and inhibit the growth of microorganisms, thereby prolonging the shelf life of the product. Most existing techniques measure oxygen permeability of film before it has been incorporated into the package – where the process of heating, stretching and forming can affect the film’s properties.

Application
– Monocrystalline silicon cells (the most common)
– Polycrystalline silicon cells (more limited performance)
– Amorphous silicon deposited as a thin film on glass substrates (the latest)

Oxygen Permeation System

OTR Response / Time with ACTIS Coated Bottles

Measurement of WVTR through ultra barriers

Analyzer:
The Ambient Oxygen Ingress Rate (AOIR) method, can measure the permeability of oxygen through films in finished packaging. The rate at which oxygen passes through a packaging film is a key factor for food products packaged under a modified atmosphere designed to exclude oxygen and inhibit the growth of microorganisms, thereby prolonging the shelf life of the product. Most existing techniques measure oxygen permeability of film before it has been incorporated into the package – where the process of heating, stretching and forming can affect the film’s properties.

WVTR System

Sample Chamber Cross-Section

Steam Sterilization by Autoclave

Sterilization refers to any process that eliminates, removes, kills, or deactivates all forms of life and other biological agents (such as fungi, bacteria, viruses, spore forms, prions, unicellular eukaryotic organisms such as Plasmodium, etc.) present in a specified region, such as a surface, a volume of fluid, medication, or in a compound such as biological culture media. Steam sterilization (or Autoclave) is one the mature technology used in sterilization. In food & beverage industry, steam sterilization has been used to achieve long-term shelf stability for canned foods, food packaging and other products. Most of shelf-stable food products are thermally sterilized after being placed in the final containers. Only a relatively small percentage of shelf-stable foods are processed before packaging, using aseptic filling. Since decades ago, steam sterilization by autoclave has been one of the commonly used sterilization methods in preserving and prolonging shelf life of food products and has contributed significantly to the nutritional well-being of much of the world’s population.

Front-Loading Autoclave

  • Heat
  • Steam (Autoclave)
  • Dry Heat (Oven)
  • Chemical
  • Ethylene Oxide (EtO)
  • Ozone
  • H2O2

Top-Loading Autoclave

  • Radiation
  • Electron Beam
  • Gamma

Flow Injection Analysis (FIA) in Foods & Agriculture Industry

Flow injection analysis (FIA) can be used to test soil, fertilizer, water, plant tissue samples and many other matrices. The compounds analyzed are typically inorganic molecules, including nitrate, phosphate and much more. FIA technology has been especially useful for soil laboratories across the world. Come planting and growing seasons, farmers require fast, yet precise, soil and plant measurements. Their samples flood agricultural laboratories and would freeze operations if it weren’t for FIA technology. The unparalleled throughput and precision of FIA allow laboratories to complete sample analyses quickly and efficiently.

Advantage of FIA:

  • Low detection limits
  • EPA/APHA/SM/ISO standard and regulation compliance
  • Multi-channel analysis with one single sampling
  • Fast calibration time and testing throughput
  • Low reagent usage and waste generation
  • Automation and auto dilution capability
  • Consistent and reproducible results

Common methods:

  • Potassium
  • Nitrate and Nitrite
  • Ammonia
  • Sulfate
  • Phosphate
  • and more

Flow Injection Analyzer (FIA)