fat, protein and sugars, this breaks down
the starch it contains. The remainder is
declared as dietary fiber. Unfortunately,
the enzymatic breakdown process is
not as selective as expected. Substance
classes that are not metabolized as starch
such as resistant starch and insoluble oligosaccharides
are also broken down. The
result is that the stated fiber content of
the food is too low, the amount of carbohydrates
is stated too high. For many
foods that doesn't matter. Unfortunately,
there are foods that make a big difference.
So there needs to be a correction
of ash and protein (the editor).
What is your view regarding the
DUMAS method versus the Kjeldahl
method?
„For us as a commercial lab the time factor
is critical“, added Milne.
„Macro sample mass capability paired
with cycle times as fast as 3,5 minutes
make the FP 828 a very good and reliable
instrument for a diverse applications
base. We run the analysis 2-3 times
a week and run about 100 samples per
day. We are looking at a lot of fish but
cover all food types including dairy,
meat, fruits and vegetable and sweets…
the LECO device is very flexible. Sample
preparation is done by homogenization
of the sample in a blender while another
sample is frozen and kept as reference
in case of queries by the customer. Some
products like nut bars can be a challenge.
„We definitely recommend service
contracts for regular maintenance service.
We have never faced technical problems
since 2020“, underpinned Milne.
Let‘s talk about precision data and
proficiency testing.
“The devices are calibrated each day. The
uncertainty factor is very low indeed. We
participate at least twice a year in proficiency
testing. On another issue: for sugars
we apply ion chromatography”, she
said. EMS detects Glucose, Galactose,
Fructose, Lactose, Sucrose, Maltose, and
total sugars. Fatty acids are analyzed with
GC-FID. „We analyze quite a lot of fatty
acids in fish since we here in Scotland
receive many fish samples on a day-today
basis“, she underlined, with 41 individual
fatty acids analysed for as standard.
Carbohydrates is done by calculation,
moisture is analyzed by microwave
oven and by conventional oven. In addition,
EMS looks for allergens with ELISA
test kits, one of which from r-biopharm.
„We also offer pH and water activity testing
methods“, she stated. EMS gets more
than 1200 samples every day.
What about authenticity testing
and tracing products back to their
origin?
„We are now entering the restaurant
market, talking about allergies and calories…
many people are more concerned
about the food and they want as much
information as possible. We already see
it at McDonalds, Wetherspoons, providing
their customers with calorie content
and of course it is now a legal requirement
to declare allergens” explains J.
Newton. In collaboration with other labs,
we are testing soil components so that
people can have a full traceability from
where the food stems from and where it
was processed ensuring people are aware
where the food has originated and how it
has been grown and produced.
What is the big picture of your company
for the next five years?
“Well, we would like to continue along
with our collaborating labs to assist
people in becoming better educated in
order to fully understand food information
wherever they buy these products,
may it be either in supermarkets or in
restaurants or wherever. We continue
to grow our company with skilled scientists,
which when we began in 2003
were a mere four and now stand at 80
and increasing.
By the way, we went through an
expensive learning curve in regard to
protein measurement as we started with
another instrument manufacturer when
the lab was equipped with devices for
chemical testing right in the beginning of
2015. It took us five years to find out that
we had to kick out the other manufacturer
and replace it with LECO. We are quite
happy with that decision“, said Newton.
Thank you.
12 Interview