Beverages

In the food industry, the compounds characterization is a critical step to ensure the quality of the products or to provide information to customers which can be sensitive to allergies. In this application note, we showed how optical spectroscopies and laser diffraction can help for food compounds characterization, especially on a specific product, i.e. milks.

Aqualog®, an analytical instrument based on the simultaneous measurement of Absorbance, Transmission, Fluorescence Excitation and Emission Matrix (A-TEEM). A-TEEM fingerprints yield qualitative and quantitative composition of key flavor and color determinants in wine and spirits that are not discernible with simple Absorbance or Transmission data analysis.

Many food products exist in particulate form ranging from powders to emulsions, suspensions and pellets. The size distribution of the particulates can affect the taste, appearance, stability, processability, and functionality of the final product. Proper particle characterization of food products requires a range of analytical instrumentation that HORIBA particle technologies have successfully applied into the food industry.

Milk is an emulsion that is homogenized to reduce the average particle size, which improve its consistency and extends shelf life. The homogenization process is expensive and careful control of the process can improve quality and consistency and reduce operating costs.

In this note, the final result of soy milk processing is evaluated with particle size analysis. Particle size results give a quantitative measure of the soy milk that can be used to ensure consistent production and product quality.

It is often necessary to determine the calcium content of milk and milk beverages. This may be done by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AA) or inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP). Alternatively, by ionizing protein-bound calcium using an acidizing pretreatment, the LAQUAtwin Ca2+ can be used to measure the total amount of calcium easily.

Few products are so involved in particle sizing from start to finish as coffee. From the classification of the raw, green coffee bean to the relationship between brew quality and the size of ground coffee beans, the quality of the final coffee drink is directly related to particle size and sometimes shape and density as well.

HORIBA’s Aqualog is uniquely equipped with patented simultaneous Absorbance spectral and fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEM) technology which provides rapid access to a wide range of parameters important to commercial wine processing and quality characterization.