The Latest in Lab Equipment

As this issue’s Product Focus shows, laboratory equipment for food science and the industry is changing rapidly. As the cover story for our December/January 2009 issue reported, one of the key changes in the lab is the emergence of tools that are more efficient, reliable, and automated, said Purnendu Vasavada, PhD, an extension food safety and microbiology specialist with the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. The lab will also be smaller.

“Space is increasingly a premium in processing plants,” Dr. Vasavada pointed out, with no pun intended. “So the lab of the future will be smaller to optimize space savings. An instrument or a system that formerly occupied a 10’ x 6’ table will now need a 4’ x 2’ counter and will be driven by a laptop computer. However, if you test for specific pathogens, you will need to have a dedicated facility with a specialized air handling system to minimize the risk of cross contamination.”

Even if the lab is small and automation is at a competitive level, industry won’t see a lab without human intervention anytime soon. “There will, however, be hybrid, automated, or semi-automated systems that one technician can operate to efficiently conduct various analyses,” Dr. Vasavada said.

With a new generation of user-friendly test kits and instruments on the horizon, companies will be able to conduct in-house testing rather than sending samples to outside contract labs for analysis. “That will save time and money and minimize complications in data handling and interpretation,” added Dr. Vasavada, who is also a member of Food Quality magazine’s editorial advisory panel.

Pascal Yvon, PharmD, MBA, who at the time the article was published was chief executive officer for U.S. Markets of AES-Chemunex, agrees that automation will play a key role, as will standardization.

“Automation is a means to standardization, which saves time and increases productivity,” he said. “To do that, you must get rid of as many steps as possible that can be influenced by the operator. We must use methods and technologies with which every operator will get results and meet objectives that are not impaired by manual work. The goal is to first reduce the number of manipulations and then ultimately be fully automated so people can push a button, walk away from the instrument, and get results.”

BUCHI Corp.

19 Lukens Dr., Ste. 400
New Castle, DE 19720
877-MYBUCHI
Fax: 302-652-8777
www.mybuchi.com

New BUCHI NIRMaster – The First Stand-alone FT-NIR for Food and Feed industries

This breakthrough instrument is the first stand-alone FT-NIR spectrometer which has been specifically designed with hygiene in mind for routine QC work in harsh environments in Food and Feed Industries.

Available in food-grade polymer and stainless steel housings, it includes a built-in PC loaded with a variety of ready-to-use calibrations.

www.mybuchi.com/NIRMaster.19700.0.html

Product Categories

• Chillers
• Chromatography
• Digestion Apparatus
• Dryers
• Evaporation
• Fat Analyzers
• Kjeldahl Apparatus
• Moisture Analyzers
• Near-Infrared (NIR) Spectrometry
• Nitrogen Analyzers
• Protein Analyzers
• Rotary Evaporation
• Sample Preparation Instruments and Supplies
• Vacuum Solutions

Eppendorf North America

102 Motor Pkwy.
Hauppauge, NY 11788-5178
800-645-3050
Fax: 516-334-7506
info@eppendorf.com
www.eppendorfna.com

Simply Better Pipetting!
Eppendorf Xplorer® – The New Electronic Pipette

The Eppendorf Xplorer electronic pipette was specially designed for high professional standards to provide optimal support for you and your work. The Xplorer sets new standards for simplicity, precision and reproducibility, which means no more delays due to complicated programming or inflexible processes.

www.eppendorfna.com/foodquality

Product Categories

• Biophotometer
• Bottletops
• Centrifuges
• CO₂ Incubators
• DWP and MTP plates
• Easypet
• epMotion
• Fermenters
• Freezers
• Pipettes
• Real-time cyclers
• Repeaters
• Shakers
• Thermal cyclers
• Thermomixer
• Tubes
• Twin.tec Plates

FOSS North America

8091 Wallace Road
Eden Prairie, MN 55344 USA
952-974-9892
Fax: 952-974-9823
info@fossnorthamerica.com
www.foss.us

Automated Kjeldahl Analysis Makes Protein Determination Easy

With safe, rapid, and remarkably accurate results, the FOSS KjeltecTM 8000 series offers a new level of efficiency and productivity to meet today’s lab demands for automated Kjeldahl. From basic distillation units to fully automated sampler systems, FOSS solutions provide a wide range of customizable options for labs of any size.

www.foss.us/kjeldahl

Product Categories

• Digestion Apparatus
• Fat Analyzers
• Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectrophotometry
• Homogenizers
• In-Line Infrared Systems
• Moisture Analyzers
• Near-Infrared (NIR) Spectrometry
• Nitrogen Analyzers
• Protein Analyzers
• Sample Preparation Instruments and Supplies
• Supercritical Fluid Extraction Systems
• Texture Analyzers

Mocon Inc.

7500 Mendelssohn Ave. N.
Minneapolis, MN 55428 USA
763-493-6370
Fax: 763-493-6358
Text Messages: 763-248-3750
www.mocon.com

MOCON’s Greenlight™ 900 Series Offers Breakthrough in Same-day Bacteria Analysis

Imagine the impact on your business if you could determine bacterial APC the same day. The GreenLight™ 900 Series by MOCON® makes it possible. These systems reduce the overall cost of each test and offers a variety of instruments to satisfy all levels of testing volume.

www.mocon.com/foodsafety.php

MOCON’s OpTech®– O₂ Sets A New Standard for O₂ Analysis of Packages

Using platinum chemistry MOCON®, takes optical fluorescence technology to a new level. With sensitivity from 0.001 to 25% O₂ this flexible, well-designed hand-held unit offers shelf-life analysis and protects product quality all in one. Ideal for both R&D and QA applications.

www.mocon.com/optech.php

Product Categories

• Carbon Dioxide Analyzers
• Flow Sensors
• Headspace Analyzers
• Leak Analyzers
• Microbiological Analysis
• Moisture Analyzers
• Multiple Test Analyzers
• Oxygen Analyzers
• Package integrity
• Permeation testing instruments
• Quality Control Package Testing Systems
• Shelf-life evaluation
• Software – Amora, Flavor, Odor Analysis
• Water Activity/Relative Humidity Instruments