Vitamins and minerals are essential for the proper functioning of organisms. The level of their content is therefore one of the most important indicators of the quality of food products and appropriate technological treatments.
Vitamins can be of natural origin or obtained synthetically and their analytics is extremely complex due to the variety of structures and properties.
Minerals are chemical elements, exogenous compounds, i.e. compounds which are not synthesised by our organism and must be supplied externally in appropriate doses and proportions. Not only macronutrients (i.e. minerals such as magnesium, potassium, calcium, sulphur, phosphorus, sodium and chlorine), which are in high demand, but also micronutrients (e.g. iodine, chromium, iron, copper, selenium, zinc and fluorine), which are in slightly lower demand, are important for our body.
Tests to confirm vitamin and mineral content shall be carried out mainly on food supplements and also on foods commonly consumed, where their presence and level provides evidence of a particular nutritional value of the products.
The amounts of vitamins and minerals listed in the table in Annex XIII to Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, may be declared on the packaging of foods when they are present in significant amounts. This significant amount shall be calculated using appropriate relationships:
- 15 % of the reference intakes contained in 100 g or 100 ml in the case of products other than beverages,
- 7,5 % of the reference intake values contained in 100 ml in the case of beverages, or
- 15 % of the reference intake values per portion if the package contains only a single portion.
J.S. Hamilton Poland performs analyses in its central laboratory in Gdynia, sometimes also in cooperation with the best European laboratories recognised in this field. Determination of vitamins and minerals requires the use of many specialised testing techniques.
In case of vitamins, the choice of testing technique is mainly related to the classification and structure of the vitamin under study. Most often, chromatographic techniques (liquid chromatography technique with fluorescence detection HPLC-FLD or spectrophotometric detection HPLC-UV/VIS, HPLC-DAD) or microbiological techniques are used. Less commonly used techniques are enzymatic or titration methods.
For the determination of mineral content, J.S. Hamilton Poland laboratory uses inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma ionisation mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) techniques.
Tests for vitamins and minerals are performed by accredited methods. It is also worth adding that in the case of many agri-foodstuffs, animal nutrition products and premixes, the laboratory is accredited in the flexible range, which means that it can modify the test method, change the measurement range of the method and add a new attribute to be tested (vitamin or mineral) within the facility and method. The current “List of tests conducted within the flexible scope” is available on the website.
Are you looking for a partner to help you take care of your food products? Contact us today to learn more about our offer – or to schedule tests right away.
