Article courtesy of Food Review, published April 2025
Three key parameters—moisture, protein, and fat content—stand at the forefront of food analytical chemistry, providing crucial data that impacts everything from shelf stability to nutritional labeling and production economics. This article explores the significance of these parameters and the various analytical methods employed in today’s food laboratories for their accurate determination.
DETERMINATION OF MOISTURE
The moisture content of raw materials, such as grains or finished products can be an indication of their storage stability. Moreover, moisture is one of the parameters that can generate the highest production margins. If there is a limit on the amount of moisture in a product, it is profitable to keep the water content as close to this limit as possible without crossing it. The water content is traditionally measured with moisture balances or titration. Moisture content is also one of the prime examples for NIR analyses, especially for fast and reliable at- and on-line measurements.
Labotec’s Precision Moisture balances measure moisture content, while the Orion Star T940 all-in-one titrator provides flexible pH, redox, and ion concentration titrations. Pairing the titrator with premium ROSS pH electrodes or Orion redox and ion-selective electrodes offers enhanced measurement capabilities.
DETERMINATION OF PROTEIN CONTENT
Proteins are essential nutrients for both humans and animals and an important quality parameter in food production. The primary reference method for measuring protein content of foods is the Kjeldahl method. In this method, protein is broken down to ammonia, the nitrogen content is measured and this value is multiplied by a specific factor to obtain the protein content. Besides the Kjeldahl method, NIR is a well-established technology to determine nitrogen/protein.
DETERMINATION OF FAT CONTENT
Fat is an important parameter in food products, such as oilseeds, meat, dairy, and others. Fats have a high energy content, play a vital role as transporters of flavour, and substantially contribute to the mouthfeel of food. Soxhlet extraction is the reference method for the measurement of free or total fat, and is preceded by an acid hydrolysis step. The fat is then extracted with an organic solvent. Other methods for fat determination include NIR, NMR, or specific extraction methods depending on the sample type (e.g. Mojonnier for dairy).
LABOTEC: YOUR PARTNER IN FOOD ANALYSIS
Labotec, as the local supplier for all laboratory equipment mentioned in this article including Buchi’s comprehensive range of analytical solutions, provides South African food manufacturers with access to state-of-the-art instrumentation, technical support, and application expertise.
LABOTEC PRECISION MOISTURE ANALYSERS
The MT range of moisture analysers from Labotec Precision Balance Series offers moisture analysis for all industries. This is made easy with a halogen lamp to ensure uniform heating and reliable results with a readability up to 0.01% and 110g capacity. They also feature built-in memory and a removable pan handler for easy cleaning.
THERMO SCIENTIFIC ORION STAR T940 ALL-IN-ONE TITRATOR
Dedicated automatic all-in-one titrator that makes the conversion from manual to automatic titrations simple and convenient. Perform pH, redox or ion titrations on one easy-to-use system. Use the Orion Star T940 all-in-one titrator for flexible pH, redox and ion concentration titrations including equivalence point titrations, pre-set pH or mV endpoint titrations plus multiple known addition (MKA) mode for automated known addition of various ions. Pair the titrator option with any premium ROSS pH electrodes or Orion redox and ion selective electrodes or select one of the preconfigured titrator and electrode kits.
Key features:
- Accurate, reproducible results: Automating the titration workflow enables analysis to be run using the same setup parameters and calculations every time
- Faster setup time: Setup and save electrode, titrant and titration parameters once using methods
- Improved lab throughput: Start the titration and let the instrument run unattended
- Reduced cost and downtime: Easily replace titrator parts to minimize maintenance downtime while long lasting electrodes reduce the cost of ownership
Food analysis is critical in today’s food production industry, serving multiple essential functions from quality control to regulatory compliance and economic optimisation.
