CHEMICAL

FOOD ANALYSIS
CFB 31203
ASSESSMENT
⚫ Written test 20%
⚫ Mini Project 20%
⚫ Lab Report 20%
⚫ Final 40%
⚫ Total 100%
Objectives
⚫Performing chemical analysis of different food
product.
⚫Finding literature sources for comparison with
analytical data.
⚫Finding literature sources of analytical methods.
⚫Able to evaluate data statistically.
⚫Communicate effectively as a professional food
scientist by preparing written and oral reports on
laboratory work.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this course, the students should be able
to :-
I. explain the importance of food analysis in food
industry.
II. explain technical terminology and scientific units
related to the analysis and labeling of food.
III. demonstrate competency in calculation involved
in the preparation of samples and reagents and in
analysis of data.
 Cont.
IV. apply the principles and procedures for the chemical
analysis of food.
V. demonstrate the awareness of accuracy and
reproducible in analysis .
VI. retrieve information on methods in food analysis.
VII. apply knowledge from this course when conducting
actual analysis of food samples in the laboratory.
VIII.compare different methods used in analysis .
CHAPTER 1
DEFINITION
Food analysis is part of analytical chemistry or a form of
measurement science consisting of a set of powerful ideas
and methods that are useful in obtaining scientific
information about food products.
Type of Food Analysis
Qualitative Analysis
⚫Establishes the chemical identity of the species in the
sample.
⚫i.e. The presence of pesticides in fruits/vegetables
(but not the amount of pesticides).
Quantitative Analysis
⚫Determines the relative amount of species, in
numerical terms.
⚫i.e. Determination of dioxin (pesticide) level in fruits
and vegetables. The unit is ppm.
Examples
Quantitative
⚫Gravimetric Methods
⚫Volumetric Methods
⚫Electroanalytical Methods
⚫Spectroscopic Methods
⚫Miscellaneous Methods include the measurement of
such quantities as mass-to-charge ratio, rate of
radioactive decay, heat of reaction, rate of reaction,
sample thermal conductivity, optical activity, and
refractive index
Examples
Qualitative
1. Sensory evaluation-the presence of ‘sweetness’ in a
food sample.
2. Starch test:-

Note: the change of the iodine to

black on the potato (right) but not
the apple (left). (Using 10% iodine
solution.) Potato contains starch,
but apple does not.
Type of Food Analysis
⚫ Destructive analysis
⚫ Examples: Determination of fat, protein, ash etc.
⚫ Non-destructive analysis
⚫ Examples: Determination of colour, observation using
microscope, determination of size of food product such
as flour etc.
 Laboratory
A body or entity which measures, examines, test,
calibrates or determines the characteristics or
performance of materials, equipment or products.
Chemical Safety in the Lab
⚫ Follow Good Chemical Practice (GChP)
⚫Before initiating a work with a substance/chemical, a
hazard & risk assessment must be made of its
hazard(s), or potential degree of risk presented by the
purposed use of it.
Personal Protection for Job Safety
⚫ Lab coat
⚫ Safety glasses
⚫ Glove
⚫ Dust filter mask
⚫ Safety shoes
⚫ PPE etc.
Steps in Analysis
1. Select and prepare sample.
2. Perform the assay.
3. Calculate and interpret the results.
Select and Prepare Sample
⚫This step is about obtaining a representative sample
and converting the sample to a form that can be
analyzed.
⚫ Sampling is the initial step in food analysis.
⚫ This topic will be discussed again in Chapter 3.
Perform the Assay
⚫This step is about performing the assay on the food
sample or prepared food sample.
⚫Performing the assay is unique for each component or
characteristic to be analyzed and may be unique to a
specific type of food product.
⚫Therefore, specific method or official method should
be used to ensure the reliability of the data/results
obtained.
⚫This topic will be covered indirectly in Chapter 5, 6, 7,
8 and 9 as well as in Food Analysis 2.
Food-safety-aflatoxins-Lebanon
Aflatoxins are mycotoxins produced by the fungi Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus
parasiticus, that may be present in stored feed or food. This photo shows a
scientist preparing solutions for an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
method of checking levels of aflatoxins in a food quality control centre in Lebanon.
Calculate and Interpret the
Results
⚫This step is involve calculating of the raw data
obtained from the assay, interpreting and making
conclusion.
⚫To make decisions and take action based on the
results obtained from performing the assay that
determined the composition or characteristics of a
food product, one must make the appropriate
calculations to interpret the data correctly.
⚫ This topic will be covered in Chapter 4.
Sampling
⚫Generally sample for analysis should be large enough
for all intended determinations.
⚫ Spices- often limited to 100 g.
⚫ Fruits & vegetables increased to 1000 g.
⚫Sample should be packed & stored to maintain the
quality from the moment of sampling.
⚫ The container should be identified clearly.
⚫Official & legal sampling must be seal in such way
that they cannot be opened without breaking the seal.
Type of samples – that commonly analyzed in a
Quality Assurance Program for food products.
1. Raw material samples
2. Process control samples
3. Finished product
4. Competitor’s sample
5. Complaint samples
Raw material samples
⚫ Do they meet your specification?
⚫ Do they meet required legal specifications?
⚫ Are the quality the same as previous deliveries?
⚫Will a processing parameter have to be modified
because of any change in the composition of raw
materials?
Process control samples
⚫ Generally analyzed by rapid in-plant test.
⚫E.g. Thermometer, refractometer, colormeter,
hydrometer, etc.
⚫As a guide to processing adjustments needed to
produce an acceptable and uniform product.
⚫Periodic checks of finished products show whether
the food meets legal requirements, acceptable to the
consumer.
Complaint samples
⚫ Submitted by customers.
⚫How do the composition and characteristics of a
complaint sample submitted by a customer differ
from a sample with no problems?
Competitors’ samples
⚫Sample taken in the market for developing new
products.
⚫ What are its composition and characteristics?
⚫How can we use this information to develop new
products?
Factors That Determine Selection of A
Sampling Procedure
• Purpose of inspection- acceptance or rejection,
evaluation of average quality and determination of
uniformity
• Nature of lot- size, division into sublots, and loading
or stacking.
• Cost
• Nature of test procedures- significance, destructive
or nondestructive assay procedure and time and
cost of analyses
Continuous Sampling
⚫ Using mechanical/automatic samplers

Three examples of samplers:-

⚫ Solid sampler Liquid sampler

⚫ Liquid sampler
⚫ Air sampler

Air sampler
Gravity sampler for solids products
Manual Sampling
• Taken manually
• Homogenous materials such as single-phase liquids
or well-mixed powders should be mixed thoroughly
immediately before sampling.
• Laboratory samples or powders or ground materials
may be obtained by quartering of the remaining
material, discarding two opposite quarters,
remixing the remaining material and repeating the
process until the sample is reduced to a desired size.
Sampling Errors
⚫ Cause by several factors:-
⚫ Lack of randomness in sample selection may result
from both instrumental limitations or deficiencies and
human bias.
⚫ Changes in composition may occur during and after
sampling.
Official Methods
• The choice of method for a specific characteristics or
component of a food sample is often made easier by the
availability of Official Methods.
• Several nonprofit scientific organizations have compiled
and published these methods of analysis for food
products, which have been carefully developed and
standardized.
• They allow for comparability of results between different
laboratories that follow the same procedure, and for
evaluating results obtained using new or more rapid
procedure.
• Method which is globally recognized to provide
confidence in analytical results.
• Official method commonly used in most research
institutes/laboratories.
Example of Official Methods
⚫A.O.A.C. Association of Official Analytical Chemist.
⚫A.A.C.C. American Association of Cereal Chemists.
⚫A.O.C.S. American Oil Chemists’ Society
⚫Malaysian Standard MS 241: 1998. Specification For
Bread (First Revision). Selangor: SIRIM Berhad.
Cont.
⚫International Commission on Microbiological
Specification for Food (ICMSF) 1980. Microbiology
Ecology of Foods. Jil. 2. Food Commodities. New
York: Academic Press.
⚫U.S Food Drug Administration (USDA). 2001.
Bacteriology Analytical Manual Online. United
States of America. Center for Food Safety & Applied
Nutrition.
Summary
⚫Food scientists and technologist determine the
chemical composition and physical characteristics of
food routinely as part of their quality management,
product development, or research activities.
⚫For example, the type of samples analyzed in a quality
management program of a food company can include
raw materials, process control samples, finished
products, competitor’s samples, and consumer
complaint samples.
⚫Consumer, food industry and government concern for
food quality and safety has increased the importance
of analyses that determine composition and critical
product characteristics.
Summary…(cont.)
⚫To successfully base decisions on results of any
analysis, one must correctly conduct al three major
steps in the analysis: (1) select and prepare samples,
(2) perform the assay, and (3) calculate and interpret
the results.
⚫The choice of analysis method is usually based on the
objective of the analysis, characteristics of the method
itself (e.g., specificity, accuracy, precision, speed, cost
of equipment, and training of personnel), and the
food matrix involved.
⚫Validation of the method is important, as is the use of
standard reference materials to ensure quality results.
⚫ Endorsed methods for
Summary…(cont.)
⚫Rapid methods used for quality assessment in a
production facility may be less accurate but much
faster than official methods used for nutritional
labeling.
⚫Endorsed methods for the chemical analyses of food
have been compiled and published by AOAC
International, AACC, AOCS and certain other
nonprofit scientific organization.