T-02

Chemical and compositional testing

Composition and condition measured to published methods, so you can show a product still matches the specification you sell it against.

What it is: Proximates, physical chemistry, stability indicators
Who it is for: Anyone selling against a written specification
Turnaround: 1–7 days

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WHAT THIS IS

What this is, and why it matters

Chemical and compositional testing measures what a product is made of and what state it is in. Proximate analysis — moisture, ash, protein, fat, fibre, carbohydrate — establishes composition. Physical chemistry — pH, water activity, titratable acidity, salt — establishes the conditions that decide whether the product is stable and whether organisms can grow in it. Stability indicators such as peroxide value, free fatty acids and total volatile basic nitrogen establish whether it has begun to degrade.

These are the numbers underneath a specification. When a buyer rejects a delivery, when material from a new supplier behaves differently on the line, when a reformulation has to land on the same declared values, or when a complaint alleges the product was not what the label said, the answer is a measured value against a published method. Water activity and pH do double duty in particular: they are quality parameters, and they are the safety justification for how a product is stored and how long it keeps.

Figure · Container and volume

Send at least double what one determination consumes. A retest needs reserve, and a determination that runs short cannot be completed.

What this lane covers

Proximate composition, physical chemistry, stability indicators
Specification compliance, raw material verification, reformulation

TRIGGERS

When you need it

A specification has to be evidenced

Your own specification, a customer specification or an export requirement names values the product must meet. Composition measured to AOAC or ISO methods is what stands behind them when someone checks.

Incoming material needs verifying

Off-specification raw material is far cheaper to catch at goods-in than after it has been processed into finished product. A short proximate panel on each new supplier, and on each lot from a supplier still being approved, is the usual control.

You changed the recipe, or a complaint landed

A reformulation has to hit the same declared values, and a complaint alleging the product was wrong needs a measured answer rather than a position.

CATALOGUE

Chemistry — parameters

Parameter	Matrix	Reference method	Turnaround
Moisture	Food, feed	AOAC 925.10	2–3 days
Ash	Food, feed	AOAC 923.03	2–3 days
Protein (Kjeldahl)	Food, feed	AOAC 991.20	3–4 days
Total fat	Food, feed	AOAC 948.22	3–4 days
Crude fibre	Feed, cereals	AOAC 962.09	3–4 days
Carbohydrate (by difference)	Food	Calculation	3–4 days
Salt as sodium chloride	Food	AOAC 971.27	2–3 days
pH	Food, water	AOAC 981.12	1–2 days
Water activity (aw)	Food	AOAC 978.18	1–2 days
Total volatile basic nitrogen	Meat, fish	EC 2074/2005 Annex II	2–3 days
Peroxide value	Oils, fats	AOCS Cd 8b-90	2–3 days
Free fatty acids	Oils, fats	AOCS Ca 5a-40	2–3 days
Titratable acidity	Dairy, beverages	AOAC 942.15	2–3 days
Total dietary fibre	Food	AOAC 991.43	5–7 days
Total and free sugars	Food, beverages	AOAC 982.14 (HPLC)	4–5 days

Method references and turnaround times shown are indicative and are confirmed in writing before any sample is accepted.

Figure · Published turnaround spread

Published turnaround spread, grouped from the catalogue above — every line carries a working-day figure. Bands share one axis, so a longer band is genuinely a longer wait.

PROCESS

How it works

Send the brief before the sample
Product type, the determinations you need, and what the result has to be compared against — your specification, a customer specification, or an export requirement. That comparison changes how the report is written, so it is worth stating up front.
Sample requirements confirmed in writing
Quantity, packaging and whether the sample needs to arrive chilled depend on which determinations are running. They are confirmed in writing before dispatch, along with anything that has to be sampled in duplicate.
On the bench, to a published method
Every determination runs to the ISO, AOAC or APHA method named in the catalogue above, and that reference travels onto the report line rather than sitting in a footnote. Turnaround runs from acceptance at the laboratory, not from the day the sample left you.
Reported so the result can be acted on
Results are reported per determination with the method reference and the unit. Where you named a specification, the report sets each result beside its specification value so the comparison is done on the page rather than in a spreadsheet afterwards.

What you get back

A report giving each determination, the method used, the measured value with its unit, and — where you supplied one — the specification value beside it. Enough to attach to a delivery, a customer response or a technical file without rewriting it first.

Service facts

Parameter	Value	Note
Live service status	[VERIFY: Which testing services are actually LIVE]	Published as orderable only when the lab confirms it.
Accreditation position	Accredited. Certificate N-T-00607 covers food and agricultural microbiological testing to ISO/IEC 17025:2017.	Stated plainly, never implied by a badge.
Sample requirements	Confirmed to you in writing before dispatch. Container, quantity, temperature and hold time change with the parameter and the matrix, so they are issued per request rather than published as one list.	Per-parameter detail publishes with the confirmed method list.

Q+A

Common questions

Chemistry

Can you run the full proximate panel on one sample?

Yes — moisture, protein, fat, ash, fibre and carbohydrate are run as one panel. The laboratory confirms in writing the sample quantity it needs before you send anything.

Is carbohydrate measured or calculated?

Usually calculated by difference from the measured proximates, which is standard practice. The certificate states how every reported value was obtained, so there is no ambiguity when a customer or auditor asks.

My in-house moisture reading disagrees with your result — whose is right?

Possibly both — different methods give different numbers, and moisture is the clearest example of it. The report states the method used, so compare like with like before concluding either instrument is wrong. If your customer’s specification names a method, tell the laboratory and it confirms in writing whether it runs that method.

Is stability testing the same as a shelf-life study?

No. Physical and chemical stability work tells you how a parameter behaves over time or under a condition — a shelf-life study is a designed programme behind a printed date, and it has its own page. If you are not sure which you need, describe the decision you are trying to make and the laboratory will say which service answers it.

My customer’s specification names parameters I don’t recognise — can you help?

Send the specification as it stands. The laboratory confirms in writing which parameters it covers, and names any it does not, rather than substituting a near-equivalent silently.

Send the sample question or the instrument list. It is read by a bench professional, not routed through a ticket queue. Confirmed phone, mailbox and address publish here at launch.

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