From September 2018 newsletter
Why test for vitamins?
Knowing what vitamins, and in what quantity, are in your products and ingredients is advantageous as it can help you to:
- Develop new products
- Anticipate the impact of shelf life on vitamin levels
- Understand the impact of processing on vitamin content
- Fortify products for nutritional claims
- Make health claims
Vitamin analysis is not always straightforward. Vitamins are a very disparate group of chemicals and historically they have been measured in different ways - taking account of their chemistry, source, and whether they occur naturally in the food or have been added. For example it is also important to identify whether the vitamin is from a natural source or fortified, as different extraction methods are used.
At Campden BRI we have developed a range of methods which can rapidly and reliably test for all vitamins. We are UKAS accredited for the analysis of vitamins A, D, E, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9 and B12. We can test for vitamins in most food and drink - fruit, vegetables, dairy, meats, fish, sprouted seeds, drinks, vitamin supplements, animal feeds, pet foods. We can also help you to work out which vitamins to test for and provide expert interpretion of the results.