Food Analysis

Food analysis is a technical discipline that specialises in the study of methods for analysing the composition of various foods and the relevant theories, with a view to assessing food quality; it constitutes a crucial component of the food quality management process. The purpose of food analysis is to utilise physical, chemical and other methods to meet nutritional requirements and ensure food safety.

Analysis of nutritional components in food:

This includes the analysis of eight major categories of components—moisture, ash, mineral elements, fat, carbohydrates, protein and amino acids, organic acids and vitamins—as well as all items required for food nutrition labelling.

Analysis of food additives:

Food additives refer to auxiliary materials added during food production to improve the sensory characteristics of food; to enhance its original quality, increase its nutritional value or improve its overall quality; to extend its shelf life; or to meet the requirements of processing techniques.

The analysis of harmful substances in food also includes:

(1) Elements subject to maximum limits or harmful elements: These result from contamination of food by industrial waste (including waste water, waste gas and solid waste), production equipment and packaging materials, and primarily include arsenic, cadmium, mercury, lead, copper, chromium, tin, zinc and selenium.

(2) Pesticides: These result from the contamination of crops due to the inappropriate application of pesticides, or from the pollution of the growth environment of plants and animals caused by industrial waste, ultimately leading to pesticide residues in food.

(3) Bacteria, moulds and their toxins: This refers to microbial contamination caused by improper food production or storage practices, with aflatoxins posing the greatest risk.

Food Analysis: Coffee

Coffee Aroma: From Roasting to Brewing and Headspace Analysis

From the roasting of coffee beans to different brewing methods (filtered coffee, espresso and instant coffee), and from real-time headspace to direct nasal sampling.

Online analysis using an online mass spectrometer is employed to obtain chemical information characterising the differences in coffee headspace components across various coffee blends. Online mass spectrometry analysis offers a novel and effective method for characterising the aromas of coffee blends, which can shorten new product development times and improve quality control through automation and other means.

Food Analysis: Fruit

Aroma analysis of strawberries

Online mass spectrometers offer real-time capabilities, enabling researchers to quantify compounds in the tester’s nasal cavity. Extremely low limits of detection and high temporal resolution allow for real-time monitoring of aroma release.

Correlations between individual food perception and measured intranasal aroma concentrations provide data for aroma design and flavour research.

For example: isoprene is an endogenous compound produced within the body, occurring approximately every eight seconds with each exhalation. When strawberries are chewed, aromatic compounds such as methyl dimethylbutyrate are released and can be quantified in each exhalation.

Food Analysis: Condiments

Aroma analysis of saffron

Online mass spectrometers are ideally suited to food quality control, for example, in the case of saffron. Saffron is a spice derived from the crocus plant and is one of the world’s most expensive spices by weight.

Despite numerous attempts at quality control and standardisation, saffron adulteration and poor product quality remain significant issues facing the spice industry.

Online mass spectrometry, utilising this extremely sensitive and highly selective non-destructive technique, has demonstrated that the VOC fingerprint of saffron samples changes during storage, and that the concentration of the initially dominant VOCs in saffron gradually decreases.

Food Analysis: Bread

Aroma analysis of bread

In consumer perception, food freshness is based on personal experience, with a clear understanding of what constitutes freshness. In food and flavour science, online mass spectrometers can serve as an ideal tool for linking descriptive sensory analysis with objective fingerprint profiles of food volatiles. For bread, freshness can be assessed by correlating consumers’ judgements of freshness with descriptive sensory analysis and the analysis of volatile components via online mass spectrometry.

Food Analysis: Alcoholic Beverages

Aroma analysis of wine

Various technical improvements to online mass spectrometers in recent years have made the analysis of alcoholic beverages easier, faster and more accurate.

The relatively high ethanol content in wine, combined with its high volatility, means that ethanol concentrations in the headspace may exceed the upper limit of the dynamic range of even the most sensitive detection instruments currently available.

For the characterisation of large numbers of different wines and rapid quality control in the wine industry, an online mass spectrometer with an autosampler is the perfect solution. Simply place a small sample into a vial. The rest of the analysis is fully automated, requiring no manual intervention and, of course, no sample preparation whatsoever.

Food analysis: Snacks

Aroma analysis of chewing gum

Even after prolonged chewing, chewing gum should continue to release its flavour. However, it is virtually impossible to measure the effects of changes in the chewing gum matrix and aroma encapsulation system using offline techniques (such as GC-MS).

Using an online mass spectrometer, flavour release can be monitored and quantified with extremely high temporal resolution.

Measurements can be carried out very easily, even on a large number of test samples, without any loss of measurement data, and effectively avoiding the need to repeat costly large-scale studies.

Food Analysis: Vegetables

Aroma analysis of chillies

The pungency and distinctive aroma of chillies are appreciated worldwide. However, there is limited information regarding the correlation between VOC emissions and the pungency of different chilli varieties and cultivars. Pungency is the primary driver of changes in certain aromatic volatiles, and there is a genuine possibility of predicting the pungency of fresh chillies through rapid VOC screening analysis.”

Food Analysis: Chilled Beverages

Aroma Analysis of Flavoured Water

Even when using high-resolution online mass spectrometers, the separation and quantification of individual compounds within complex mixtures can be challenging. The ability to distinguish between isomers and isostructural compounds can be enhanced, thereby improving the identification capabilities of online mass spectrometers.