Our nutrition department can perform a wide variety of nutrition
related testing. Listed below are just a few. Please call or send e-mail
if you have any questions.
Nutritional Parameters
US FDA Nutrition Labels
Vitamins, minerals, protein, etc
Sugar profile (by GC)
Cholesterol
Fatty acid profiles (C8-C18, omega-3, trans fat)
Quality Parameters
Brix (by refractometer)
Free fatty acids
Rancidity (hexanal)
pH / Water Activity
Scoville heat value
Shelf life
Contaminants/Preservatives
"Bad odors" in foods (see below)
BHA/BHT/benzoate/ethoxyquin/sorbate/TBHQ
Ethylene oxide in spices/Propylene oxide in nuts
Glycoalkaloids (in potatoes)
3-MCPD (see below)
Alcohol/caffeine/polysorbates
Solvent residues (e.g., in decaffeinated coffee)
Sulfite/sulfur dioxide
Our Capabilities
Headspace Analysis
Using either a headspace sampler or a SPME technique in conjunction
with GC/MS enables us to
determine volatile compounds in foods. Applications include "bad odors" in
foods or packaging, rancidity testing (for hexanal), shelf life and other aroma related analyses.
3-MCPD
Of interest recently is the discovery of 3-chloro-1,2-propanediol
(3-monochloropropanediol or 3-MCPD) in hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), soups,
stock cubes, soy sauce, malt extract, salami, flour, cereals and other foods
containing HVP. 3-MCPD has been found in soy sauce in which protein hydrolysis
is accomplished using hydrochloric acid. Soy sauce which has
been manufactured by a fermentation process not involving HCl does not contain
3-MCPD. Because of its toxicity, several countries have set maximum levels for
3-MCPD. It is not uncommon to find products containing 3-MCPD.
Columbia Food Laboratories uses the AOAC Official Method 2000.01 to determine 3-MCPD.
Trans Fat
On July 11, 2003, the US FDA published the final regulations for inclusion of trans fat on
nutrition labels. See Talking
About Trans Fat for more information concerning trans fat. Columbia Food Laboratories offers the determination of trans
fat as part of new nutrition labels or as a stand-alone test for pre-existing
labels. With this technology, it is also possible to determine if
hydrogenated oil has been used in a food product. We use high resolution (100
meter capillary column) gas chromatography
to determine trans fatty acids.
