In order to assess the quality of food products it is possible to perform analytical tests on a number of basic physical and chemical parameters characteristic for a given foodstuff, which are often included in product specifications along with specific criteria. Requirements for some of them can also be found in the legal acts in force. The most common ones include:
- protein, fat/oil/fatty matter, ash, moisture/water and volatile matter/dry matter, which are essential constituents of foodstuffs for nutrition labeling, but are also important quality parameters for certain types of foodstuffs, e.g. meat and meat products, milk, cheese, oilseeds, etc.,
- net mass is an analysis carried out mainly in pre-packaged products, the permissible negative values of the unit pack quantity error,
- acid value/free fatty acids, peroxide value, anisidine value are analysed in oils and fats and in fat extracted from a range of products containing it, in order to assess their quality in terms of the changes associated with fat rancidity,
- collagen, whose content is determined by hydroxyproline analysis, is a connective tissue protein found in meat and meat products. Regulations specifiy the maximum connective tissue content (collagen content in meat protein) of various types of meat,
- total acidity, pH are quality parameters characteristic of milk, fermented beverages, fruit and vegetable preparations and soft drinks, among others,
- volatile acidity, total extract are mostly determined in soft drinks and fruit and vegetable preparations,
- insoluble ash in hydrochloric acid solutions makes it possible to determine the level of impurities of mineral origin, such as sand in fruit, vegetables and their preparations, confectionery, herbs and spices,
- total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N)) and histamine are determined in fish and fish products as an indicator of freshness. The TVB requirements for certain fish species are contained in Commission Regulation (EC) No 2074/2005 of 5 December 2005. Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 of 15 November 2005 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs, as amended, sets out criteria for histamine,
- glaze content is an analysis carried out on frozen fish and seafood that is glazed, i.e. covered with a layer of ice in order to protect the product from changing colour, loss of resilience, drying and spoilage. Verification of this parameter is important from the point of view of commercial quality because information on the glaze content must be included on the package,
- the falling number, wet gluten, Zeleny sedimentation index and bulk density of the grain are, in addition to protein and moisture content, parameters specific to the qualitative assessment of cereal grains,
- carbon dioxide used in the production of waters and other carbonated beverages, beer is analysed in order to confirm the degree of saturation of the tested product with this compound. The Ordinance of the Minister of Health of 31 March 2011 on natural mineral waters, spring waters and table waters (Journal of Laws No. 85, item 466) presents the criteria for the classification of waters according to the degree of saturation with carbon dioxide,
- density is used in liquid foodstuffs as a quality parameter e.g. in juices, oils or to convert parameters expressed as weight percentages into units of volume.
In the field of quality assessment of animal feedingstuffs, tests are performed on basic analytical components such as protein, fat, ash, crude fibre and others. Tolerances for the declared contents in feed materials and mixtures are indicated in Regulation (EC) No 767/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on the placing on the market and use of feed, amending European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003 and repealing Council Directive 79/373/EEC, Commission Directive 80/511/EEC, Council Directives 82/471/EEC, 83/228/EEC, 93/74/EEC, 93/113/EC and 96/25/EC and Commission Decision 2004/217/EC, as amended, and for pet food the FEDIAF Code of Good Labelling Practice for Pet Food.
The laboratory of J.S. Hamilton Poland performs tests of the above quality parameters using accredited methods of weighing, titration, potentiometry, refractometry, spectrophotometry, pressure, oscillation. Should you need tests of any of these kinds, do not hesitate to get in touch with our specialists.
