Two distinct testing needs, both served by the catalogue.
Compositional analysis for process control and labelling, and contaminant analysis for safety and regulatory compliance.
Compositional analysis
Moisture, fat, protein and ash — measured for nutritional labelling, yield optimisation, process control and payment-on-composition in traded commodities (milk, meat). Needs to be fast because it drives production decisions in real time.
Contaminant analysis
Heavy metals, mycotoxins, pesticide residues, allergens — measured for safety compliance and export market approval. Needs to be accurate and defensible because it determines whether product is legally saleable.
Regulation 588 of 2018 under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act 54 of 1972 sets maximum limits for lead, copper, mercury, zinc, cadmium, arsenic, tin and antimony across specified foodstuffs, measured by accredited analytical methods — the primary local metals-in-food compliance driver.
Export dimension: South Africa exports citrus, wine, table grapes, nuts, deciduous fruit, maize and meat to the EU, UK, Asian and other markets, whose heavy metal and pesticide residue limits are frequently stricter than domestic ones. A rejected consignment at a foreign port is catastrophically expensive — export laboratories test to the strictest applicable standard.
Trusted across South Africa's food and beverage testing chain.
- · A multinational dairy processor
- · An international FMCG food manufacturer
- · Independent food-safety contract laboratories
Named client references appear on this site only where written permission has been given.
| Application | Product |
|---|---|
| Fat analysis (no calibration, ISO standard) | ORACLE (ISO 16756 / IDF 259) |
| Moisture and solids | SMART 6 |
| Protein (direct, not nitrogen) | SPRINT |
| Ash / mineral content | Phoenix BLACK |
| Heavy metals digestion | MARS 6 / BLADE (EN 13805, AOAC) |
| Pesticide residue extraction, solvent fat extraction | EDGE |
| Autosampler for high-throughput metals | ASX-series |
The production economics argument. For a meat processor blending to a target fat percentage, an overshoot gives away expensive lean trim; an undershoot produces out-of-specification product. Real-time fat measurement with ORACLE on the blend line allows correction before the batch is committed — a saving measured in raw material cost per tonne, potentially exceeding the instrument's cost in a single year for a large processor. ORACLE's method-transferability is also significant for multi-site manufacturers: a method validated at one plant works identically at another without recalibration.
ISO 16756 / IDF 259 (fat analysis) · AOAC 2008.06 (fat and moisture in meat) · AOAC Official Methods (general food and feed) · EN 13805 (trace elements in foodstuffs) · Codex Alimentarius · SA Regulation 588 of 2018.