This laboratory provides bench space, as well as general equipment and glassware, for conducting basic wet chemical analyses and determination of physical properties of food products and their constituents. Analyses include macronutrient (protein, lipid, carbohydrate, moisture) and micronutrient (ash, sodium, calcium, iron, vitamin C, etc.) determinations encompassing extractions, separations, titrations, colorimetric assays, etc., as well as physical property measurements (water activity, viscosity, texture, color, microstructure, etc.). This space is utilized for instructional purposes within Food Chemistry and Food Analysis courses, and can accommodate up to 24 students.
Featured Facilities
- Laboratory equipment: Forced air/vacuum drying ovens, rapid moisture analyzer (halogen), muffle furnace (dry ashing), Goldfisch lipid extraction unit, Babcock waterbath/centrifuge (milkfat analysis), spectrophotometers, rotary viscometer (Brookfield), consistometer, colorimeter (HunterLab Colorflex EZ), chloride analyzer (autotitration), water activity meter (Decagon/Meter Group), pH meters, analytical and top-loading balances, waterbaths, light microscopes, stirrer/hotplates, vortexers, mechanical pipettes, dessicators, etc.
- Specialized glassware: Soxhlet fat extraction apparatus/condensers, toluene distillation apparatus, Babcock flasks, burets (25 and 50 mL), Wildman trap flasks, etc.
- Ancillary items: Chemical fume hoods, Millipore water purification system for ultrapure water, conventional fridge/freezer, - 80 °C freezer (long-term sample storage)
