How NIR can help you avoid losses in snack food production

NIR, or Near Infrared spectroscopy is a technique for fast, accurate food testing, and it can provide essential quality control for snack food production.

Snack foods are extremely popular in the UK. They have become the equivalent of the nation’s fourth meal. However, it also means that snack food production continues to be highly competitive.

Producing snack foods is not simply a question of volume. Quality is critical. The challenge, therefore, for food manufacturers, is to meet demand while maintaining high standards.

One issue is managing waste. Mass production of snack foods can be prone to losses when whole batches are rejected because they contain the wrong levels of fat, moisture or flavours.

Snack food production is high-volume, but it requires absolute precision to maximise productivity and minimise losses.

That is where NIR can make a significant difference to on-line food testing.

What the customer wants

Snack food is immensely popular, but its mass audience is a discerning one.

Any hint of a change in levels of seasoning or balance of flavours and the feedback can be forceful.

Food manufacturers cannot take their target markets for granted.

That is especially true where social media is involved; we are in an age of instant, and potentially widespread, criticism. 

The other factor here is compliance. There is increasing pressure on food producers to offer greater clarity about the ingredients they use.

Consequently, snack food producers must routinely and diligently test their products in production.

Why Analysis Time is Critical in the Snack Food Industry

With high volume production lines, losses will eat into margins rapidly. Therefore, it makes sense for producers of snack food to look for testing methods that are as non-disruptive as possible.

The issue with some forms of testing, such as titration, is that if this does not happen in real time, then there will be a period immediately after taking the sample but before the result, where the line keeps moving.

If, then, the sample test throws up any kind of questions regarding product quality, the manufacturer will be left with two choices, either:

• Dump as waste the products that have come through the line in the testing period; or

• Quarantine them.

Both options will incur considerable expense and mean lost productivity.

Older food testing methods are struggling to keep up with food production.

Why NIR is the modern alternative

NIR spectroscopy measures light that is scattered off and through sample food material, rapidly determining the material’s properties.

Traditionally, NIR technology in on-line food testing has involved instruments using optical filters.

As a technology originating in the 1970s, this has its limitations. It only measures a limited number of infrared wavelengths.

Modern NIR instruments can now measure a full spectrum of infrared light and can do so in a matter of seconds.

This enables NIR to measure food content such as protein, carbohydrate, moisture, salt, fat, food oils and various polymers.

These different components give off unique infrared emissions, and NIR can read what the proportion of them is in each sample.

This form of analysis is rapid and non-destructive – it does not involve adding anything to the food sample. It is also an ideal solution for bulk analysis of food produce such as grains.

This makes NIR ideal for testing in a high volume, snack food production environment.

Portable Snack Food Testing

NIR methods are like bringing the lab to the sample. A new generation of NIR devices provide a portable solution to production line food testing.

This does away with the inconvenience associated with snack food testing, and can help producers avoid losses.

Testing is fast, and in real time.

The result the producer sees is what is happening on their production line at the point of testing.

Where operators need to intervene to change the balance of ingredients, they can immediately do so to remedy the issue, or this can be automated via feed back loop.

NIR therefore provides an agile solution to snack food testing, while cutting down on waste.

Protect Your Food Assets

Accurate food testing is an integral part of snack food production. It helps food producers protect their assets, by ensuring a high level of immediate quality control.

NIR is an enabling technology. It is good news for food producers, for businesses looking at their bottom line and, ultimately, for the consumers they depend on.

For more information about NIR and specialist food testing equipment, please call us on +44 (0) 1925 860 401, email info@calibrecontrol.com, or fill in our online contact form.