Analysis and testing
Food analysis and testing is the evaluation of the sensory, chemical, microbiological and physical properties of food and drink. Food analysis is an important part of quality assurance, regulatory compliance and product development. Below is a collection of articles related to analysis and testing. To find out more about our analysis and testing services get in touch – support@campdenbri.co.uk.
Validation trial for Blakbear Ltd’s freshness indicator
Blakbear’s mission is to expedite the transition away from fixed use-by dates, by bringing quality assurance to every package.
Selecting the right method or test kit for your food allergen testing
With so many different food allergen tests available, it can be daunting to select the most appropriate option. We can help you.
Identification of foreign bodies
Analytical methods and identification strategies involved in investigating foreign bodies, key considerations for typical foreign body categories, and how kn...
Are you getting the ingredients you paid for?
For more on analysis and testing, including rapid turnaround for urgent testing, visit our service pages.
Accelerated shelf-life testing of food and beverage products
Here we outline the services we offer in this area, signpost other useful tools, and unpack some of the key considerations and limitations for conducting acc...
Setting shelf-life for ambient food and beverage products
Exploring shelf-life limiting quality parameters and considerations for setting a ‘best before’ date for ambient goods
Creating the texture that consumers want from plant-based alternatives to meat
Food microstructure affects texture and sensory perception. We can use information from imaging microstructure, alongside texture analysis and consumer insig...
Neogen: delivering method validation services
Neogen, a global provider of food safety solutions and services, have developed a rapid, alternative method for testing the commercial sterility of UHT treat...
How resilient is your supply chain?
Campden BRI has a long history of providing specialist advice to the food and drink industry on best practice for ensuring that supply chains remain resilien...
Major milestone for human food made with cultivated animal cells in the United States
The FDA announced that it has completed its first pre-market consultation for a human food from cultivated animal cells. The product, by UPSIDE Foods, is mad...
Pet foods and the unknown risk to human health
Over the years, the pet food industry has suffered several foods scares resulting in adverse health effects to those owning pets and financial impacts. In th...
Meat testing – ensuring quality and safety
Testing of meat and meat products can be used to assess quality, safety, performance and compliance with prescribed standards, both external and internal, an...
Packaging under the microscope
This webinar explains how microscopy techniques can be used to assess the plastics and metals commonly used in food and drink packaging. ...
Bans of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food packaging gain traction: Get ready with PFAS testing
Governments around the world are currently trying to remove PFAS from the food supply, as well as the environment. A patchwork of new legislations in recent ...
List of food recalls for ethylene oxide grows
European countries and the UK are facing more ethylene oxide related recalls after the substance was detected in more food additives used in a large range of...
Microscopy services: video
From foreign body identification, troubleshooting problems with food packaging materials, to the investigation and screening of a wide range of samples
How did COVID-19 cause food poisoning cases to plummet?
As we pass the one-year point in the pandemic, COVID-19 has appeared to have had a drastic effect on reported cases and outbreaks of food poisoning.
What effect does novel packaging have on microflora?
Today’s food packaging landscape is driven by the desire to minimise environmental impact while maximising shelf-life and presenting products attractively to...
Food colour – just how important is it?
Colour is one of the most important sensory aspects of food and drink. As well as indicating its likely freshness and flavour,
Listeria - an overview
Listeria monocytogenes is a pathogen that poses a significant risk to consumers if not kept under control.
Listeria lessons
Over the past year Listeria appears to have re-emerged as an organism of great importance, with a number of high-profile outbreaks.
Next generation methods for microbiological and chemical food safety
The project will assess next generation technologies in microbiological and chemical analysis.
The benefits of proficiency testing schemes in brewing
The Brewing Analytes Proficiency Scheme (BAPS) is an international scheme designed to promote quality in the measurement of a range of chemical, microbial an...
Mitigating food fraud - best use of analytical screening tools
This project will use analytical screening approaches to show best practice for preparation and use of authenticity calibration.
The importance of rheology
The importance of measuring viscosity and viscoelasticity which contribute to the consumer’s acceptability of food.
Flavour and taint troubleshooting with food and drink
Problems with taints and off–flavours can cost food and drink companies considerable money and time through wasted product, impact on reputation and lost pro...
Understanding the safe shelf life of foods using advanced microbial profiling
This project will revaluate microbial specifications for a range of chilled products and analyse the effect that naturally occurring microflora has on the gr...
Food safety and traceability using protein profiling
This project will develop confirmatory methods for food allergen testing and the detection of the allergen source.
Calculating duty correctly
Duty is paid when goods are brought into a country or trading area. Rates of duty are different for different commodities and different origin countries.
Why test for vitamins?
Vitamins are important nutrients that your body needs to function correctly and remain healthy.
Understanding presumptive positives in meat testing
The majority of Escherichia coli strains are harmless and are generally seen as hygiene indicators in the food industry.
Avoiding the pitfalls of nutritional analysis
Ensuring the correct method of analysis is chosen, to capture an accurate nutritional profile, relies on accounting for the variability of several factors.
Particle shape and size
Particle geometry can be used to assess quality control and quality management, and ultimately product performance (Vince Clark)
Arsenic – complying with new limits in food
Arsenic is known to be harmful to health, but not all forms of arsenic are equally toxic.
A guide for the selection of suitable sensory methods
Sensory assessors and/or consumers are often used to confirm the suitability and/or acceptability of newly (re-)formulated products.
Food colour – it's more important than you think
Colour is one of the most important sensory aspects of food and drink.
Protein profiling - how can it improve food safety and traceability?
We've recently started a new three year member-funded project looking at the use of protein profiling for assessing food safety and traceability.
Chemical risk assessment
New service, based on computer models, to assess the hazard of chemicals and identify if a contaminant could potentially pose a risk to human health. (Anton ...
A fresh look at microbial contamination
One of my early experiences as a food microbiologist was a visit I paid to a bread bakery that was having problems with a salmon-pink-coloured mould growing ...
Ergot mycotoxins
The European Commission is intending to propose maximum levels for ergot alkaloids in unprocessed grain in 2017.
Analytical methods - using GC-MS to assess wine quality
Since I began working in the UK wine industry in 1976, I have tested and advised on tens of thousands of wine samples.
Pasteurisation of novel alcoholic beverages – striking the right balance
Contamination of beer by spoilage micro-organisms remains a considerable challenge for the brewing industry.
Non–targeted screening methods
Research project will give members access to non-targeted analysis for 'unknown hazards'. (Danielle Cawdron)
Non-destructive imaging of food and packaging using X-ray micro-CT
X-ray micro-CT is a non-destructive imaging technique that allows internal food and packaging structure to be investigated.
Analysis of chlorate and perchlorate in beer
Following our development of a method to simultaneously determine levels of chlorate and perchlorate in food and drink, the British Beer and Pub Association ...
Identification of physical contaminants in food
Foreign bodies form the biggest single cause of consumer complaints received by many food and drink manufacturers, retailers and enforcement authorities.
Authenticity testing
Julian South and Steve Garrett discuss the issues surrounding food authenticity, including meat and fish speciation, in light of the new BRC 7 ...
LC/MS
The Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry instrument illustrated here can separate and quantify analytes.
X–ray micro–CT scanner
The x–ray micro–CT scanner is used to look at the internal structure of foods and packaging.
Objective measurement of food textural properties
Texture of foods includes a complex group of physical properties that result from the structural make up of the food.
Using protein separation techniques to understand protein performance in food systems
Understanding how raw ingredients function in food systems is critical to controlling final product quality
Food contact materials
Food contact materials (FCMs) are all materials and articles intended to come into contact with food or drink.
Ensuring that your packaging is fit for purpose
When deciding what packaging to use for a particular product, the packaging itself cannot be evaluated in isolation.
Mitigating acrylamide formation in food
Anton Alldrick discusses the issues of acrylamide formation in food, and the concept of the acrylamide toolbox – ways of reducing acrylamide...
Authenticity testing of olive oil
Campden BRI is partner of choice for authenticity testing of olive oil.
Choosing a Method Validation Procedure
Laboratories use a variety of approaches to help ensure that they get the right result. One of these is method validation.
FT–IR spectroscopy
The most valuable application of FT–IR microscopy is in the chemical mapping of a sample of varying composition.
Chemical analysis moves on
Recent developments in techniques under the broad umbrella of chemical analysis have allowed us to investigate and solve problems that were previously diffic...
Mapping distributions of components in food through image analysis
A wide range of imaging and microscopy methods are used to study the structure and appearance of food products.
Particle shape and size analysis
Particle shape and size can have a significant impact on many aspects of food.
Analysis and testing
Relevant, reliable and timely analytical results are essential for many of the day–to–day and strategic business decisions.
DNA profiling of fish
Steve Garrett, Molecular biologist at Campden BRI, talks about the use of DNA profiling to test the species of origin of fish and fish produ...
Choosing the right disinfectant
When choosing the right disinfectant to use in a food manufacturing or similar area, there are several considerations to bear in mind.
Foreign body identification
How we investigate foreign body problems and how this can be used to prevent recurrences of problems.
Trouble with taints
Problems with taints and off–flavours can cost food and drink companies considerable money and time - in wasted product and resolving the problem.
Image analysis and product quality
Sophisticated imaging technology can provide an insight into product composition, colour and physical structure.
Identification of physical contaminants in food
The rapid and cost-effective identification of foreign bodies reported from food is an essential part of the investigation of contamination incidents in orde...
Packaging – burst testing
A test used by the packaging manufacturers and food and drink producers for quality control and troubleshooting.
Salt analysis - make sure you understand the results
Salt analysis (via both sodium and chloride determination) is one of the many chemical analytical services available at Campden BRI.
Uncertainty of Measurement: what it means
Testing laboratories have, by necessity, become familiar with the concept of measurement uncertainty.
Microscopy and product development
This podcast talks about how microscopy can help inform product development and troubleshoot quality problems that can arise.
Identification of foreign bodies in food
This podcast describes some approaches to the identification of foreign bodies found in foods, and how identifying the foreign body can help ...
