Bruker launches portable XRF for food safety and quality

The Counter Top XRF (CTX) spectrometer is available in different configurations depending on the industry and application, such as food safety and agriculture, pharmaceutical raw materials, polymers and marine fuel oil analysis.

Examples of use in food include quality analysis of raw materials and finished products as well as during the process, hazardous analysis for adulterant and metallic contaminant identification and analyzing food content for iron and calcium in milk liquid and powder.

The CTX uses Energy Dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) technology.

It is designed for applications that require sample preparation and/or sample presentation in a cup or bag and for small samples and those that demand measurement times of more than a few seconds.

Mobile and field use​

John Landefeld, EVP of the handheld-mobile-portable XRF products, said it is complementary to the S1 TITAN and TRACER handheld XRF instruments.

The CTX was designed for use in mobile and field labs but can be deployed in central labs and on the factory floor for pre-screening or routine analysis and as a back-up for larger XRF or ICP/AA systems.

It features Bruker's patented SharpBeam optimised X-ray geometry, a silicon drift detector (SDD) with DetectorShield, as well as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and USB connectivity.

The CTX 800 and CTX 600 models for food safety have a calibration range of 37 elements, including magnesium, aluminium and silicon. 

Optional PC software includes Artax for qualitative, semi-quantitative composition analysis and EasyCal for user-defined empirical correlations.

MoU with KAUST​

Bruker has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia.

The KAUST–Bruker Center of Excellence (CoE) in Magnetic Resonance is the first CoE in this field and on such a scale for the company.

Dr Frank Laukien, president and CEO of Bruker Corporation, said its relationship with KAUST and its researchers is an example of how a vendor-customer relationship leads to better instruments and scientific outcomes.

An NMR lab at the university houses five solid, five liquid state NMR’s and one Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) spectrometer from Bruker.

"Scientific advancement is dependent on the close relationship between research and technological developments,"​ said professor Jean M.J. Fréchet, SVP for research, innovation and economic development at KAUST.

“This CoE will also serve as a launch pad for new technologies, providing the region with an international demonstration and training site.”​

Food analysis developments​

Bruker has made the beer freshness package available on its benchtop microESR, supported by applications training, customized reagents, GMP flavour standards and technical support.

A collaboration with FlavorActiv measures how materials, process design and operations can damage or optimize beer freshness throughout the production cycle.

This information allows manufacturers to optimize the production process and take corrective action earlier, ensuring stability of the final product.

Bruker has also developed a benchtop electron spin resonance (ESR) instrument and software for measuring oxidation and shelf life in liquids. Induction time and end-point free radical concentration are automatically calculated.

It measures the oxidation profile of edible oils and provides a prediction of shelf life before product is packed and distributed. The system determines oxidative resistance in 30 minutes.

Rancidity of edible oil occurs during storage and is caused by oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids, resulting in bad odours and taste of the final product.

NMR to tackle fraud​

Finally, the firm’s NMR FoodScreener has had its first US installation to enable North American honey producers to screen samples for adulteration and authenticity to ensure brand reputation.

Famille Michaud Apiculteurs adopted the NMR technology for honey analysis in Europe in 2016.

The Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture is also using the system to help authenticate and identify the country’s wines.

Diagnosticum and Bruker formed the Hungarian Wine Consortium and are developing a model based on the NMR FoodScreener technology for wine-profiling.

Diagnosticum Zrt, a diagnostics company, signed a contract with the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture in July 2017 to collaborate on a wine authentication and identification program.

Hungarian wineries have less than two years to submit samples and participation is required.

Databases already exist for Spanish, Italian, French, Chilean, Austrian and German wines.