Need Food & Beverage Gas Testing Services?
Gases have many uses in food and beverage manufacturing, including applications like carbonation of soft drinks, headspace blanketing, package filling, and cryogenic freezing of prepared foods. Through partnerships with regulatory and advisory groups like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Food Chemicals Codex (FCC), Compressed Gas Association (CGA), and the International Society of Beverage Technologists (ISBT), Atlantic Analytical Laboratory has developed numerous analytical methods that are now considered the benchmark for quality testing of food and beverage gases.
Beverage Grade Carbon Dioxide
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is used to add effervescence (bubbles) to many different types of beverages during the manufacturing process. CO2 is commercially produced from a wide range of feed gas sources, including ethanol fermentation, refinery gas production, natural gas wells, coal gasification, cogeneration, and ammonia production, to name a few. Each CO2 feed gas source and associated purification system involves a unique set of analytical challenges that must be met to ensure final product CO2 quality.
Atlantic Analytical Laboratory has been an active member of the International Society of Beverage Technologists (ISBT) for almost 20 years; many of the analytical methods included in their guideline publications were initially developed at AAL. The published ISBT guideline for beverage grade carbon dioxide quality is considered to be the primary reference for CO2 analysis worldwide.
The beverage grade carbon dioxide analysis performed at Atlantic Analytical Laboratory is a comprehensive set of tests designed to detect and quantify the critical contaminants associated with carbon dioxide from all major feed gas sources. The analytical reports generated are tailored to match the current ISBT Carbon Dioxide Quality Guidelines exactly, so carbon dioxide suppliers can rest assured their product meets their end customer’s needs.
Beverage Grade Nitrogen
Nitrogen (N2) is used for many different food and beverage applications, in both its cryogenic liquid and gas phases. Because nitrogen is distilled from the atmosphere around us, the potential impurity list is not nearly as complicated as the list for carbon dioxide (which is typically a by-product of other chemical processes or separated from natural gas sources). Once again, Atlantic Analytical Laboratory has worked closely with the International Society of Beverage Technologists (ISBT) to help develop the current Nitrogen Quality Guidelines. And if there are any other chemical impurities of concern that are specific to your source or your end user’s requirements, we can create a customized report format that will meet your needs.
Other Food and Beverage Gases
Other gases used in food and beverage applications include argon, hydrogen, helium, ethylene, carbon monoxide, and oxygen. Atlantic Analytical Laboratory is perfectly positioned to help your company develop an analytical program to certify any gas supply that may come into contact with food products and processes. If you have a specific process gas that you need to have analyzed by an independent laboratory, give us a call!
Sample Submission
The most critical step in any analytical program is initial sample collection – great care must be taken to ensure the sample collected is truly representative of the source. AAL has a large selection of sampling cylinders and other sampling equipment available for all types of gas and liquefied gas sampling. If you are uncomfortable collecting samples or just want to make sure everything goes smoothly, we can send one of our experienced personnel directly to your facility to collect samples on site for you. We look forward to working with you soon!
