Analysis 1

• Food Analysis

  Discipline dealing with development, application, and study of analytical procedures for characterizing the properties of foods and other constituents
• Determination of food composition & critical characteristics

  • Proximate analysis of major components [moisture, fat, protein…]
  • Minor nutrients [vitamin, minerals...]
  • Trace components [preservatives, flavours, colors..]
  • Adulterants/contaminants [pathogens, pesticide residue, aflatoxins, heavy metals..]
  • Detailed compositional analysis [amino acid, fatty acids..]
• Activity - complete this diagram

  • FOOD
  • Moisture
  • Organics
  • Carbohydrate
  • Non-organics
  • Crude protein
  • Crude fiber
• Importance of Food Analysis

  • To investigate food composition & characteristics
  • A part of a quality management program
  • Throughout the development process
  • Through production
  • After a product is in the market
  • To determine the nutritive value, functional characteristics, acceptability of the food product
• Reasons for Analyzing Foods

  • Food Safety
  • Government Regulations
  • Research & Development
  • Quality Control
  • Nutrition labelling
  • Standards – mandatory and voluntary
  • Food inspection and grading (Authenticity)
• Trends & Demands


  • Consumer - Have many choice, can be very selective, demands high quality, diet & health, safe, nutritious
  • Food Industry - Compete in market place, so must produce food with high demands, Identify the source of problem
  • Government Regulations and International Standards and Policies - To market safe & high quality products, Global marketplace, HACCP, GMP, Nutrition Labeling & Educational Act, Codex Alimentarius Commission
• How Food Analysis relate to your future prospect?
• Food Analyst Act & Regulations
• Types of samples analyzed in a quality assurance program for food products

  • Raw materials - Do they meet your specifications? Do they meet required legal specifications? Are they safe and authentic? Will a processing parameter have to be modified because of any change in the composition of raw materials? Are the quality and composition the same as for previous deliveries? How does the material from a potential new supplier compare to that from the current supplier?
  • Process samples control - Did a specific processing step result in a product of acceptable composition of characteristics? Does a further processing step need to be modified to obtain a final product of acceptable quality?
  • Finished product - Does it meet the legal requirements? What is the nutritive value, so that label information can be developed? Or is the nutritive value as specified on an existing label? Does it meet product claim requirements (e.g., "low fat," "gluten free")? Will it be acceptable to the consumer? Will it have the appropriate shelf life? If unacceptable and cannot be salvaged, how do you handle it? (trash? rework? seconds?)
  • Competitor's sample - What are its composition and characteristics? How can we use this information to develop new product?
  • Complaint sample - How do the composition and characteristics of a complaint sample submitted by a customer differ from a samples with no problem
• Steps in Food Analysis

  1. Select and prepare sample

  2. Performing the assay

  3. Data analysis and interpretation
• Characteristics of the methods

  • Numerous methods are available
  • Select or modify methods, must understand the principle underlying the procedures and the critical steps
  • Objective of the methods - Rapid method-new product development (moisture analyser), Official method–nutritional labeling (oven drying)
  • The performance of many analytical methods is affected by the food matrix, i.e., its chemical composition
  • High fat/high sugar foods can cause different types of interferences than low fat or low sugar foods
• Validity of the method

  • Specificity, Precision, Accuracy, Sensitivity
  • Detection limit
  • Proper sample handling
  • Calibration/standardization of equipment
  • The analysis of materials used as controls – Standard Reference Materials
  • Check sample services – to evaluate the reliability of a method – AACC International Approved Methods
• Accuracy

  How close a particular measure is to the true or correct value
• Precision

  A measure of how reproducible or how close replicate measurements become
• Standard Reference Materials (SRM)

  • Subscribed from outside organizations or prepared internally
  • Important tools to ensure reliable data
  • Routinely analyzed when test samples are analyzed
  • Should match closely the matrix of the test samples
• Functions of SRM

  • To perform instrument calibrations in units as part of overall quality assurance programs
  • To verify the accuracy of specific measurements
  • To support the development of new measurement methods
• Quality Control Check Sample & Control Charts

  1. A test sample is prepared for subscribing labs

  2. Each lab performs the analysis and return the data

  3. Statistical evaluation of the data

  4. Result is sent to each lab for comparison

  5. Statistical process control charts are generated from the data

  6. The control charts are used to maintain precision of the analytical process

  7. Control limits of 95% confidence interval of the mean as acceptability criteria
• Official Methods


  • Carefully developed and standardized methods
  • Compiled and published by several nonprofit scientific organizations
  • Allow for comparison of results between different laboratories
  • For evaluation of new or more rapid procedures
  • Other Standard Methods - Examination of Dairy Products, Examination of Water & Wastewater, Food Chemical Codex (Food Additives), Analysis of Spices, Infant formula