Title : Screening the influence of antioxidants on food product with the rapid small scale oxidation test
Abstract:
The quality of fats, oils, and food products in general strongly depends on their oxidation stability. In this contribution a new method for evaluating the oxidation stability of food products is introduced. Under accelerated conditions (elevated temperature and pure oxygen pressure) a sample of 5 mL/4 g is examined in a sealed stainless steel test chamber. Typical conditions of the method are temperatures between 80 °C – 140 °C and an initial oxygen pressure of 700 kPa. These conditions initiate a rapid oxidation process, which is monitored by recording the pressure which drops according to oxygen consumption of a sample. Due to the defined oxygen volume in the closed test chamber, the oxygen consumption can be calculated. Furthermore, we observed Arrhenius behaviour with regard to the applied temperature, enabling the user to determine the activation energy of a specific oxidation process and to estimate a product’s shelf life.
Beneficially, the oxidation stability of complex food products can be investigated since even solid samples can be measured without prior sample preparation. Application examples demonstrate the broad variety of samples and the effectiveness of the method when it comes to antioxidant screening.
The significantly reduced measurement time and a high repeatability of the method represent its major advantages, allowing for quick and direct measurement of the oxidation stability for research, process and test bench control.
Audience Take Away:
- The Rapid Small Scale Oxidation Test (RSSOT): Measuring principle and investigation possibilities
- Application examples will demonstrate how much oxidation stability and shelf life testing can be facilitated with the test method
- Almost unlimited sample variety due to the testing options and further evaluation of the measurement curve(s)
