Galaxy Scientific Inc applications

The animal feed industry is estimated around $250 billion Dollars and the beginning of its industrial scale production is tracked back to the late 19th century. 70 to 80 percent of the cost in producing animals is the feed cost. Reaching an optimal balance of nutrition to enable fastest, cheapest growth for animals at lowest cost is very desirable.

Food industry is one of the oldest and largest industries worldwide.  It is the most important industry to humankind and includes multiple sub industries such as meat, dairy, beverages, snacks, baked products, raw fruits and vegetables, edible oils, spices and much more.  Over the years, a complex network of trusted food producers and manufacturers was developed to produce food to feed over 7 billion people around the globe.

Fats and oils are recognized as essential nutrients in human diets and are presented in varying amounts in many foods. They provide the human body with a concentrated source of energy and supply essential fatty acids that are precursors for important hormones. The quality of edible fats and oils is assessed through parameters such as iodine value (IV), trans content, peroxide value (PV), anisidine value (AV), saponification number (SN), free fatty acids (FFA), and solid fat content (SFC). The traditional chemical and chromatographic methods used to analyze edible fats and oils are labor-intensive, require the use of solvents and reagents, and are extremely time-consuming.

The global non-alcoholic beverage market is valued at around $1 trillion and includes carbonated soft drinks, fruit juices, sports & energy drinks, tea drinks, and bottled water. Carbonated soft drinks represent over one-third of demand and the market is very competitive, with recipes being a closely guarded secret. Sports and energy drinks have increasing demand while tea is the second most consumed beverage worldwide after water. Fruit juices are made from a wide variety of fruits and have strict labeling regulations based on sugar content. Quality control is important during manufacturing and traditional methods for monitoring parameters of interest include HPLC, GC, and wet chemistry.

When raw materials are purchased it is critically important to verify that the correct materials have been received for quality, regulatory, and economic reasons. Often these raw materials, such as food or pharmaceutical ingredients, are transported in plastic bags or paper packaging. Packaging can be opened to perform a verification test using analytical techniques such as assays or infrared spectroscopy.

Rice is one of the most important crops for feeding mankind. In 2013, rice was the world’s second largest grain crop, (corn being first), and half of the world’s population consumed rice. With the growth of the world population and global economic development, the demand for rice will continue to increase. To efficiently supply this surging demand, it is important to improve rice varieties, quality, and crop yield.

Tobacco is one of the most widely used addictive substances in the world making it one of the largest industries across the globe.  Tobacco can grow in any warm and moist environment which means it is farmed on all continents except Antarctica.  The tobacco industry includes tobacco producers and farmers, tobacco manufacturers, wholesale distributors, and importers of tobacco products.

Spices are aromatic plant substances used primarily for flavoring, coloring, and preserving food. Their benefits are plentiful as they add few calories to food, can contribute vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants when used in sufficient quantity, and act as a natural preservative. The industry is large and diverse with one hundred and nine varieties recognized by ISO. However, most spices are produced by small scale farmers and imported all over the world, which can make quality monitoring a difficult task. Traditional methods for monitoring parameters of interest include HPLC, GC, wet chemistry, visual analysis and in the case of adulteration, microscopic or DNA testing. These methods are labor intensive, time-consuming, can only measure one parameter at a time, and can require the use of expensive solvents and reagents. FT-NIR spectroscopic analysis is fast, requires no sample preparation, and can analyze multiple parameters with a single measurement.

The cocoa bean is the seed of the tropical cacao tree and is used to make cocoa powder, chocolate from cocoa liquor, and cocoa butter. Worldwide production has grown by nearly 200% in the last forty years. Bean pods are harvested, laid out to ferment, dried, and shipped to a manufacturing plant. Manufacturing steps include cleaning, alkalization (Dutching), milling, mixing, conching, and tempering. Both the raw materials and manufacturing steps are monitored for quality control. Traditional methods such as HPLC, GC, and wet chemistry for determining chocolate quality are labor intensive, time-consuming, can only measure one parameter at a time, and require the use of expensive solvents and reagents, especially during the manufacturing process. FT-NIR spectroscopic analysis is fast, requires no sample preparation, and can analyze multiple parameters with a single measurement.

Dairy products include milk and milk-based products such as butter, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream. Milk production in the United States is over 200 billion pounds yearly and approximately 63% of this is converted into other products. The industry is expanding due to technological advances in milk production efficiency as well as consumer demand for new and more healthy products. Butter, cheese, and yogurt production can be a complex process and there is a demand for more efficient methods of quality control, especially to account for variability in raw materials and the perishable nature of dairy products.