The Monitor

Why you owe it to your customers to obtain representative samples

Hardly a month goes by when there isn’t a major food recall in the news. There are huge costs – in terms of hundreds of millions of dollars in wasted product, and the negative impact to brand equity and consumer trust – associated with each recall.

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Topics: Food & Beverage

In solid and powder sampling applications, it is important to obtain a representative sample with a sampler that enters the material stream, captures a quantity of that material, and extracts a representative sample for analysis. For all solids and powders, the sampler chosen is determined by the material flow rate, the sample amount required, and the material characteristics such as flow behavior, the shape and makeup of the particles, and the tendency of the solid or powder to segregate or group together.

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Topics: Food & Beverage, Solids & Powder

Food allergy is a rising public health concern. Researchers estimate that up to 15 million Americans have food allergies, including 9 million – or 4% – of adults and 6 million – or 8% – of children. Young children are affected most. While some food allergies resolve over time, allergies to tree nuts, peanuts, fish or shellfish generally are lifelong (Food Allergy Research & Education).

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Topics: Food & Beverage

As Homer Simpson once so eloquently said, “Here’s to alcohol: The cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems.” The processing of raw ingredients into a final product can cause problems for breweries big or small. Ingredient management, and in particular verifying consistency and quality, doesn’t have to be a problem if you choose the right automated sampling solution.

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Topics: Food & Beverage

The old saying goes, “If whiskey interferes with your business, give up your business. No use trying to do two things at once.” For some, whiskey IS their business. Within the state of Tennessee, there are more than 20 whiskey distilleries.

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Topics: Food & Beverage

Nearly all foods undergo some form of processing. Whether it’s oranges being squeezed and packaged as juice, fish being cleaned, frozen and packaged, or peanut butter being mixed and placed into containers, all food and beverage processing is required to follow good manufacturing practices (GMP) as well as additional local, national and international food safety regulations.

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Topics: Food & Beverage

Running an efficient operation requires controlled, real-time data obtained through representative sampling. What exactly is representative sampling? It’s the act of capturing a limited volume of product from the process stream that accurately reflects the characteristics of the entire lot or batch – and that product can then be analyzed. Nearly any food or beverage – including solid, powder, liquid and slurry foods, beverages and pet food – can be sampled.

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Topics: Food & Beverage

Let’s say you have a large order for a dry powdered food product and you need to be sure the product fits the customer’s specifications before it’s shipped, or you need to keep tabs on the moisture content of your material throughout a processing run, or you need to ensure that your chemical material doesn’t rise above a certain level of volatility. To accomplish these tasks, you’ll need to accurately sample and test the material using a sampler that can enter the material stream, capture a quantity of that material, and extract a representative sample for analysis. For the most accurate and repeatable sampling, you will need to employ a sophisticated method that allows precise samples to be taken at regular intervals, leaving no room for error – an automatic sampler.

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Topics: Food & Beverage

Sampling of dairy products is necessary to ensure quality, safety, and specific attributes such as butterfat content. All types of dairy – cream, milk, whey, cheese – can be sampled in their various forms, whether liquid, slurry, solid or powder.

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Topics: Food & Beverage

The answer currently is 154. The leading brand of sample coolers – Sentry – supplies more than 6,000 per year to customers around the globe.

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Topics: Power, Cement, Food & Beverage, Downstream, Mining, Upstream & Midstream, Pharmaceutical, Liquid & Slurry, Any Application, Steam & Water, Gas