Analytical Testing – Chemistry
QuanTEM Food Safety Laboratories offers a comprehensive range of analytical services designed to meet the diverse needs of the food and nutraceutical industry. From microbiological testing to chemical analysis and custom-tailored projects, our team of experts utilizes advanced methodologies to deliver precise, actionable results. Explore our services below to see how we can help ensure the safety, quality, and compliance of your food products.
Chemistry
At QuanTEM Food Safety Laboratories, our chemistry services are designed to deliver precise and reliable analyses that meet the diverse needs of the food industry. Whether you’re monitoring product quality, assessing safety, or ensuring compliance with regulatory standards, our team of experts provides actionable data to support your operations. Using robust instrumentation and quality methodologies, we help you maintain the highest standards of quality and safety for your products.
Quality Indicators
Understanding the chemical characteristics of your product is essential for ensuring consistency, quality, and shelf life. Our quality indicator testing provides insights into the key properties that influence product performance and consumer acceptance.
We specialize in testing for:
- Free Fatty Acid (FFA): A critical indicator of fat and oil degradation, used to assess rancidity and product freshness.
- Peroxide Value (PV): Measures the primary oxidation of fats and oils, providing an early warning for rancidity.
- Moisture Content: Determines the amount of water in a product, which can affect shelf life and microbial growth.
- Water Activity (Aw): Analyzes the availability of water for microbial growth, critical for shelf life and safety assessments.
- pH Testing: Monitors the acidity or alkalinity of products, which directly impacts microbial stability, flavor, and regulatory compliance.
These tests are essential for validating shelf life studies, monitoring product consistency, and optimizing formulations.
Contaminant Analysis
Contaminants in food products can pose serious risks to consumer health and regulatory compliance. Our laboratory provides comprehensive testing to identify and quantify a wide range of potential contaminants, ensuring your products meet safety standards.
We test for:
- Heavy Metals: Including lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium, which are toxic at even low levels. Our advanced instrumentation ensures accurate detection and quantification to meet regulatory requirements. Other metals available upon request.
- Mycotoxins: Specializing in aflatoxin testing, we help protect consumers from harmful toxins produced by molds in nuts, grains, and other commodities. Other mycotoxins available upon request.
- Pesticides: Testing for residues in food products to ensure compliance with regulatory limits and protect consumer safety.
- Allergens: Detecting undeclared allergens such as peanuts, tree nuts, gluten, dairy, and soy to safeguard allergen-sensitive consumers and meet labeling requirements.
With our precise and reliable analyses, you can mitigate risks and maintain consumer trust.
Nutritional and Compositional Testing
Accurate nutritional data is essential for labeling compliance and consumer transparency. We offer both crude panels for targeted insights and full nutritional panels for comprehensive labeling.
Our services include but are not limited to:
- Crude Nutritional Panels: Testing for protein, fat, carbohydrates, moisture, fiber, ash and total calories to provide a basic nutritional breakdown, often used for pet food and regulatory compliance.
- Full Nutritional Panels: Comprehensive testing for macronutrients (protein, fat, carbohydrates), micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), and caloric content, ensuring compliance with FDA and USDA labeling standards.
- Vitamin Testing: Analyzing for essential vitamins to ensure accurate labeling and formulation consistency.
Pet Food Analysis
The pet food industry has unique nutritional and safety requirements. We provide tailored services to meet the needs of pet food manufacturers, including:
- Crude Panels: Comprehensive testing for protein, fat, carbohydrates, total calories, moisture, fiber, ash, and minerals to meet associated AAFCO standards.
- Contaminant Testing: Ensuring products are free of harmful substances such as mycotoxins, heavy metals, and pesticides.
- Microbiology: testing for pathogens such as Salmonella or Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli (STEC), as needed.
Supporting Your Success
At QuanTEM Food Safety Laboratories, we are committed to providing accurate, timely, and actionable data to help you achieve your goals. Whether you’re launching a new product, conducting routine quality checks, or addressing regulatory challenges, our chemistry services deliver the insights you need to succeed in a competitive marketplace.