Laboratory facilities
All food companies should have a laboratory capable of providing basic investigations and tests. The scope depends upon the range of products made and the assurances required by the company's customers.
The following is a list of basic equipment.
- Drying oven for making moisture content tests and for calibrating other rapid moisture measurement instruments
- Balances accurate to at least 0.001 of a gramme
- Equipment for measuring the solid fat index
- Thermometers accurate to 0.1°C
- Refrigerator for storing certain ingredient samples
- Sieves for determining particle size ranges of flours and crystalline sugars.
- Refractometer for measuring sugar solution concentrations
- Facilities for making tasting tests on baked products
- Facilities for making pack seal integrity tests or shelf life (moisture pick up) tests
- Equipment for making nutritional assays if attention to any specific nutrient is made on any pack
- pH measurement
- Equipment associated with analysis of competitors' products, e.g. fat content of biscuits and creams
- Chocolate testing
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