Food Testing

Shreeyan Lab ensures compliance with food-related regulations that mandate the declaration of composition and nutritional values on labels for all packaged food items. The concept of nutritional labeling testing, developed in India to facilitate healthier food choices, is now obligatory, requiring the display of nutritional information on nearly all processed foods.

Accurate analysis and nutritional labeling play a crucial role in obtaining government regulatory approval for the sale of food products in the market. This information on labels aids consumers in making informed choices about healthy foods by comparing nutritional ingredients across different brands. It serves as a valuable source of information for consumers with specific dietary needs, such as infants, the elderly, and those with allergies or intolerances to substances like sugar, citrus, and lactose.

At Shreeyan Lab, we offer precise and reliable analysis for nutritional labeling, supporting manufacturers, retailers, importers, and exporters in complying with regulations, addressing consumer concerns, and fostering awareness. Our consultation services guide you on labeling requirements and help determine the necessary tests for nutritional content, including calorific value, energy, protein, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, sugar, fiber, fats, saturated fatty acids, and monounsaturated fatty acids. Explore our individual testing services to ensure compliance and customer satisfaction.

Pesticides are widely recognized as potentially harmful substances for humans, with health effects ranging from acute to delayed upon exposure. Extended exposure to pesticides can lead to severe health complications, including an increased risk of Parkinson's disease associated with occupational exposure to the organic pesticide rotenone. The growing consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, although beneficial, exposes individuals to pesticide residues, particularly as excessive pesticide and fertilizer use in farming contributes to habitat loss and potential risks to food safety by entering the food chain.

In response to rising consumer concerns and governmental focus on food safety, navigating regulatory obstacles and strategic challenges can result in time-to-market delays for the industry. Our experts at Shreeyan Lab are poised to assist you in overcoming these challenges through the application of our Quality Assurance expertise. Pesticide residue analysis, employing standard chemical and microbiological tests, provides food manufacturers, producers, and exporters with assurance regarding their product ingredients.

Shreeyan Lab offers reliable, accurate, and well-established quantitative methods to meet industry and government needs, emphasizing the use of highly sensitive techniques for sample preparation and testing. Overcoming the challenge of detecting "low levels of these chemicals" in complex matrices, we conduct express analytics within 24-48 hours. Chromatographic techniques such as LC/MS/MS and GC/MS/MS systems are employed, and all methods are developed and validated.

Food contaminants, categorized as biological, chemical, or physical, render foods unfit for consumption due to the presence of microorganisms or toxic substances. These contaminants, prevalent throughout the supply chain, pose a significant challenge to food safety, impacting productivity and negotiated timeframes. Shreeyan Lab expertise lies in identifying and addressing contamination issues in fresh produce, employing analytical techniques such as HPLC, GC, GC-MS, LC-MS-MS, GC-MS-MS, GC-HS-MS, ICP-OES, ICP-MS, FTIR, ELISA, PCR, UV-VIS, NMR, and more.

Our contamination testing laboratory, with vast experience and expert insight, swiftly determines the appropriate analytical approach to resolve a range of contamination issues faced by customers, exporters, and manufacturers. Our testing service detects trace levels of contaminants, including melamine, residues, heavy metals, dioxins, GMO, mycotoxins, and more.

Throughout the entirety of the food supply chain, ensuring hygiene, preventing spoilage, and averting contamination stand as paramount priorities for processors, exporters, manufacturers, and retailers. Safeguarding consumer health by conducting thorough microbial analysis to detect harmful microorganisms in food products is achievable through our reliable services at Shreeyan Lab.

This analysis serves as a critical measure to consistently ensure the safety of food products across the entire supply chain. It is equally imperative to monitor the presence of beneficial microbes during production or in the final product.

Our team of experts employs state-of-the-art technology to conduct pathogen testing, enabling consumers to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of ingredients, semi-manufactured foods, final products, and the entire processing steps or supply chain.

Shreeyan Lab provides an extensive array of testing methods to evaluate the safety of food matrices. These include traditional techniques such as cell culture with selective agars and other biochemical assays, which, although time-consuming, are complemented by advanced approaches like spectroscopy chromatography, PCR, VIDAS, and various other sophisticated methods. Additionally, the precise detection of harmful microbes such as food-borne pathogens, allergens, and instances of food fraud is facilitated through the application of DNA-based biomolecular technologies.

For Shreeyan Lab, it is imperative for food producers to designate a "best before" or "use by" date for both "safety" and "health" considerations. The "health" aspect is relevant to foods designed by the manufacturer to serve as the sole source of nutrition for an individual's diet over a specified period. This is particularly crucial for products like infant formula or special dietary foods crafted to provide exclusive nutrition for individuals who are unwell or unable to consume regular foods.

On the other hand, the "safety" component applies to foods that may become microbiologically unsafe before displaying noticeable signs of spoilage. While this doesn't typically apply to shelf-stable, frozen, or most raw foods, it becomes pertinent for specific chilled ready-to-eat foods, such as chilled meals and salads. The determination of "use by" dates for safety reasons is further elaborated below. Meanwhile, a "best before" date is assigned to foods where deterioration impacts consumer acceptance without compromising health and safety. Various changes in product attributes can influence consumer acceptance, including:

• Organoleptic properties
• Rancidity
• Texture changes
• Moisture loss
• Moisture gain
• Staling
• Flavor loss
• Light induced changes
• Microbial spoilage

The identification of species in food products has garnered increased attention due to its significance in food authentication and advancements in analytical methods. Species identification plays a crucial role in food authentication for reasons such as ensuring food safety, facilitating informed food choices, and respecting religious practices. Undeclared proteins may pose serious health risks, especially for individuals with allergies. Additionally, the absence of animal-derived ingredients is essential for adherents of vegetarian and vegan diets.

DNA Barcoding
Traditionally, species identification relied on morphological data and dichotomous identification keys. However, with the accessibility of affordable DNA sequencing, specimens can now be identified through sequence similarity in taxonomically curated sequence databases. Even a short stretch of DNA can provide sufficient information to cluster conspecific species. In DNA "barcoding," a unique sequence of a specific marker serves as a species barcode, and often, a single molecular marker is adequate for this purpose.

Ensuring the quality and safety of food packaging and related materials is a paramount consideration for consumers, businesses, and governments throughout the global supply chain.

• Overall migration testing
• Color migration
• Toxic metals
• Polyaromatic amine
• Sensory analysis
• Overall product safety analysis
• Restricted substance testing – Bisphenol A

Shreeyan Lab specializes in food sensory analysis, employing human senses to objectively evaluate properties like taste, flavor, and texture. This method proves instrumental in assessing product quality, troubleshooting issues, and facilitating new product development.

The scientific description of the appearance and taste of food, coupled with its interpretation and application for enhancing product quality, constitutes a valuable and potentially underestimated technique. Sensory analysis can be categorized into three sub-sections:

• Analytical testing: Involves the assessment of objective facts about products.
• Affective testing: Deals with subjective facts, including preferences.
• Perception: Encompasses the biochemical and psychological aspects of sensation.

At Shreeyan Lab, our skilled team of food evaluators specializes in assessing the flavor, odor, and texture characteristics of products. Utilizing advanced statistical analysis, we can categorize products and precisely quantify their similarities and differences. Our analyses are conducted in accordance with the customer's internal documents and/or national and international standards, ensuring a comprehensive check to verify if the product meets specified requirements.

Shreeyan Lab offers assistance to food producers in conducting Food Label verification, ensuring compliance with various National and International regulations.

The typical components found on a food packaging label, unless exempted from labeling requirements, usually include:

• Statement of identity
• The product’s net weight
• Manufacturer’s address
• Nutrition facts

  • Serving Size, Nutrients, Vitamins, and Minerals: This constitutes the most intricate section of a food label.

  • Guidelines and Recommendations: Strict guidelines and less stringent recommendations dictate aspects such as font colors, type, size, background colors, hairlines, and placement within this portion of the label.

• Ingredients list
  • Some exceptions apply here as well. For example, for a single-ingredient food product, such as honey, you may not need to include an ingredients list. This is only a small example of how complex labeling regulations can be and how carefully you need to inform yourself in order to accurately present your product to the consumers
  • Allergens, if present in food, should always be listed with the ingredients. If you are making any health claims such as “fat-free” you need to make sure your claim is 100% accurate.

Similar to the testing of food materials for human consumption, animal feeds also require thorough examination. Tests conducted on animal feeds encompass the following:

• Amino acid
• Ash
• Calcium
• Chloride/ Salt
• Carbohydrates
• Drugs and antibiotics
• Fat
• Crude fiber
• Moisture
• Minerals
• Microscopic analysis
• Melamine detection
• Phosphorus
• Protein
• Pepsin digestibility
• Sugar
• TDN or Total Digestible Nutrients
• Calories