How Consumers measure Texture – from first sight to swallow

Food texture plays a significant role in how consumers experience the foods andbeverages that they consume and in their preferences. 

 

Whilst we might think that taste is the key driver, texture is actually our first, and often our lasting, impression of the food we eat and is deeply entangled within other sensory properties. According to Ingredion, texture impacts other sensory modalities, even if consumers aren’t aware of it. The overall taste experience is influenced by texture when food and beverages are consumed.

Designing the Perfect Texture and keeping track of it

Texture is playing more pronounced roles in product development and creating new and just-right textures can be a new territory for product formulators trying to ensure the best eating experience for consumers. 

We eat with our eyes, nose, tongue, and ears, so in order to gain maximum enjoyment and pleasure from our food, all of the sensory attributes must be in harmony.

Texture Analysis in Research: Formulating for an ageing population

Scientists from Poznań University of Life Sciences have been evaluating the mechanical and sensory characteristics of selected foodstuffs for senior citizens. 

The population of Poland is one of the fastest ageing communities in Europe. Consequently, it is necessary to adapt the daily diet to these consumers’ requirements. The potential producers of food for senior citizens must allow for elderly people’s possibilities to consume meals (the structural aspect) and their nutritional needs.

Texture Analysis in Research: Meat & Meat Substitute Products

Researchers from the Institute of Food Science, Technology and Nutrition, Madrid, have been investigating ethyl cellulose and beeswax oleogels as fat replacers in meat products. 

 

The effect of storage over 28 days was evaluated by measuring physiochemical, mechanical and viscoelastic properties of both oleogels before and after storage. They used their TA.XTplus Texture Analyser to perform penetration tests. 

 

Ethyl cellulose produced more deformable and cohesive gels with greater time- and temperature- stability than their beeswax counterparts which resulted in rigid and brittle gels. Their oxidative stability, mechanical and rheological properties were very stable during the chilled storage period, suggesting that both organogels could be stored up to 15 days prior to use without significant change in their composition or technological properties. Read more

 

Exploring food texture as a tool to fight obesity

Crunch. Squish. Snap. Slurp. 

The textures and aromas of our foods trigger reactions in our brains that control how full we feel. 

As scientists continue to learn just how, some are seeking to figure out if food textures also play a role in how much we eat. There might be a reason, beyond taste, to explain why a person is inclined to inhale an entire bag of potato chips, or devour a whole plate of cookies. Even more important, the knowledge could be put to good use.

Extend your Texture Analysis capabilities and increase your testing efficiency

Would you like to employ a texture analysis system which provides multiple loading of samples and their subsequent testing with 'walk-away' time for the duration of all tests? 

 

If high volume, repetitive testing is causing a bottleneck in your operation, automating to meet critical deadlines can be a business imperative. An investment in automation can be justified for a number of reasons, all of which directly impact your laboratory's contribution to profit.

 The Automated Linear Indexing System (ALIS) enables the loading of multiple test samples prior to testing and does not require constant supervision by the user during testing. It is integrated seamlessly with a TA.XTplus Texture Analyser with quick and easy set-up and sample mounting.

Texture Analysis in Research: Medical and surgical advances

Researchers from the University of Indonesia have been investigating a TUR-P phantom for resident surgical training – a food-based design as a human mimicking model of the prostate. 

The novel model aimed to be similar to the human prostate in terms of its texture profile, sensation upon resection, and anatomical hallmarks for resident transurethral resection of the prostate training. Ten phantom designs were proposed, using broadly available ingredients and a homemade protocol. They used their TA.XT2i Texture Analyser to measure the samples’ texture profile. The study successfully developed a cost-effective model from a food-based design. Read more

How Meat Industry Leaders use Texture Analysis to get ahead of their competition

How Impossible Foods measures burger consistency with a Texture Analyser

Biochemist Patrick O. Brown, founder of Impossible Foods Inc., invented a “magic ingredient” that solves what he calls the planet’s biggest environmental problem: beef. The ingredient, made from soybean roots and genetically engineered yeast, goes into vegetarian Impossible Burgers, which are available in a growing number of restaurants in the USA.

There’s the problem of texture – nothing feels quite like ground beef. They have identified what particular protein properties are in real meat, and they’ve gone to look for plants with plant proteins that have those same properties.

Wooing the Senses through Texture

From the rise in popularity of artisan foods, to growing interest in global cultures and cuisines, consumer desire for culinary stimulation has led to a greater breadth of food ‘experiences’ being developed.

Before a consumer has even started to eat, they have an expectation of what they are about to experience and already some of their senses will have been activated. The crunch and crack from a bag of popcorn or the sight of melted oozing cheese on a freshly baked pizza are typical things that help our senses play a crucial role in how memorable, or not, the food we consume is.

The right texture can take products like French fries, yoghurt and candy-coated nuts from dull to deliciously daring. In short, if a product’s texture is wrong, consumers will notice.

How Petfood Industry Leaders use Texture Analysis to get ahead of their competition

How Mars measures the textural characteristics of petfood chews and dental products

Dental health is a growing and diverse sector in the pet industry with many new product lines in foods, dental hygiene, toys and accessories, particularly for dogs. Many oral care pet chew products are based on hard textures that require repeated chewing for efficacy. While such products may offer teeth cleaning functions, in many cases they pose risks to dogs either from physical injury such as gum injury, teeth fracture, or blockage of the digestive system.

Texture Analysis & Flowability of Coffee: Instant, Ground and Bean

Coffee is one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world. According to Statista, revenue in the coffee market worldwide in 2020 amounts to USD 44.8 billion, and is expected to rise by 5% each year up to 2025.

It reaches the consumer in many different forms, from a creamy latte in a hipster coffee shop to a more basic instant. The three main forms that reach the supermarket shelf, however, are whole beans, ground and instant granules. This blog post covers the Texture Analysis techniques used by manufacturers in search of a perfect brew.

How Fruit Industry Leaders use Texture Analysis to get ahead of their competition

How the Agricultural Research Institute measures texture at the watermelon harvest

The Agricultural Research Institute in Cyprus installed a TA.XTplus Texture Analyser just in time for the harvest of watermelons for an important trial. Stable Micro Systems were very happy to be able to assist and train the new user ‘on the job’. Texture Analysis was one of several methods used to assess melons of different varieties, root stocks and post-harvest storage times.

A method was developed to accurately quantify the flesh firmness using the Multiple Puncture Probe (A/MPP). The central pins were removed so as to avoid the hard core which gave a mis-representative result. The outer ring of pins was ideally located as they punctured the heart of the melon yet avoided the seeds.

Sample preparation involved cutting the melon in half and removing the blossom end with a sharp knife to provide extra stability.

Testing the integrity of packaging seals - Is Your Seal Satisfactory?

When a food product is wrapped, the package’s overall integrity, particularly of the seal area, is crucial to avoid contamination and resultant spoilage or safety issues.

The role of a packaging seal varies between products, and the importance of several factors will have different weights depending on its use. Some require excellent mechanical strength or a perfect airtight seal, whereas some must be easy to open.

How Haircare Industry Leaders use Texture Analysis to get ahead of their competition

How Croda measures the physical characteristics of hair

At Croda they use their TA.XTplus Texture Analyser to put hair tresses to the test. As an example, the effectiveness of personal care products on the physical characteristics of hair are assessed, with the bending force of a hair bundle used as an indicator of softness. Different types of hair are tested, comparing results before and after the application of various hair treatments.

For the test, the hair samples are divided into two bundles – one to undergo treatments, the second to be used as a control. An average bending force from a cycle of ten three-point-bend tests is calculated for each sample.

Texture Analysis in Research: Its Importance for 3D Printed Foods

3D printing is becoming mainstream as a design and manufacture tool in many industries. One of these is the food industry, where innovation is a key marketing strategy; consumers will buy into products that have a new spin on ‘fun’ or ‘healthy’. It is a very useful tool in the food industry, bringing digital design to life through the medium of an edible product and allowing full customisation.

Using this tool, a food product or a whole meal can have its ingredients tailored to meet the needs of a patient in hospital or a care home, leading to a better recovery. 3D printing also has the potential to make life easier for those people who use health trackers. There is a possibility that in the future, the user’s fitness tracker can send data to the 3D printer, which will output a meal perfectly tailored to that person’s requirements.

How Confectionery Industry Leaders use Texture Analysis to get ahead of their competition

• How Wrigleys and Revolymer control chewing gum texture

Wrigley have been using their TA.XTplus for quality control in a range of products for decades now. In addition to new product development and troubleshooting, the effects of formulation changes on chewing gum texture have also be assessed.

Innovative attachments, including forward and back extrusion cells, craft knife blades and tensile grips, are put into action to assess characteristics such as hardness, stickiness and stringiness.
 
Over the past two centuries, gum manufacturers have embraced materials science to produce a product that has a wide variety of benefits, from cavity protection to enhanced mental concentration.

How Bakery Industry Leaders use Texture Analysis to get ahead of their competition

How Zeelandia measures the crustiness of bread rolls

By combining the Texture Analyser’s ‘V’ Squeeze test with simultaneous acoustic measurements, Zeelandia pioneered a new method to determine the crustiness of bakery products to obtain detailed objective analysis of crust breakage.

Henk Mulder, physical scientist at Zeelandia, commented, “Stable Micro Systems’ equipment is extremely accurate and versatile. Manual tests, and even our previous lab testing methods, didn’t give us enough detail to draw meaningful conclusions for our NPD or quality control purposes.

“The ‘V’ Squeeze test measures valuable parameters, but recording sound using the Acoustic Envelope Detector provides far more detailed results that can be used in new product development and for competitor analysis and QC purposes”.

Six Ways to Test the Physical Properties of a Tablet

Transforming a formulation into a successful solid dose tablet is a complex process that involves many considerations. Time and raw materials are both valuable and must be saved wherever possible in the production process, and getting production right in the early stages is crucial to prevent expensive faults and tablet defects in the downstream production process.

During compression, the ingredients can have a large effect on physical factors. For example, abrasiveness, moisture content and particle size all affect compressibility. Considerations must also be made of the properties of the finished product.

During their manufacture, tablets are subjected to a great deal of physical abuse within the hopper in which they are spun. During this time, chipping may occur. The extent of this depends on tablet hardness. It is undesirable in terms of product quality and is also a potential health risk to the consumer.

Stickiness in Foods - Desirable or unwanted?

When a food is described as ‘sticky’, that may refer to one of several manifestations: adhesion to processing equipment, cohesion of powders, sticking to packaging, and sticking to fingers and parts of the mouth. This last characteristic affects the appreciation of food texture perceived during consumption.

In most food systems, the adhesion force in any one context is a combination of an adhesive force and a cohesive force. A food material is perceived as being sticky when the adhesive force is high and the cohesive force is low. Not all foods possess adhesiveness, and so it is not a property worth measuring in all cases. Adhesion can be either a benefit, drawback, or both depending on the circumstances.

The Packaging Research Revolution: Biodegradable Polymer Films

The majority of countries worldwide are making an effort to reduce their mark on the planet, and cutting down on plastics is an obvious place to start because of the availability of alternatives, and due to the large amount of waste they leave behind.

One of the largest sources of single use plastics is packaging. There is a large amount of academic and industrial research into this area. Stable Micro Systems equipment is a regular feature of publications due to the need for mechanical property analysis; one of the drawbacks of biodegradable polymers is their reduced structural integrity. Consequently, Texture Analysers are necessary to perform tests for both R&D and quality control, once the product has reached production. The following are a selection of recent publications into this interesting and important field, specifically those focussing on polymer films.

The Packaging Research Revolution: Biodegradable polymer foams and rubbers

A major focus of current research in both industrial and academic institutions is the development of suitable alternatives to single use plastics. This has been driven by the worldwide push for a cleaner environment, and both the manufacture and disposal of plastics are harmful in separate ways.

Packaging is a large contributor to plastic production, particularly the single use sector. One method of reducing this production is to replace traditional polymers with biodegradable alternatives. A drawback of biodegradable plastics is their reduced strength and toughness. Mechanical properties are an important consideration when it comes to packaging, so their control is a crucial stage in the R&D process. Consequently, Stable Micro Systems feature heavily in publications from this field. The following are a selection of recent journal papers, specifically those focussing on polymer foams and rubbers.

Texture Analysis to Measure the Effects of Enzyme Addition on the Staling of Artisanal Bread: Part 3 – Texture Analysis Techniques

Texture Analysis techniques

Chemical tests are a major part of the research that can be performed to assess the extent of staling. These include the measurement of water activity, alkaline water retention capacity and the amount of soluble starch. However, it is the changes in physical properties listed above that are felt directly by the consumer when eating a loaf, and it is essential that these properties are monitored when developing new formulations. Texture Analysis can be used to test the properties of bread from dough to loaf.

Texture Analysis to Measure the Effects of Enzyme Addition on the Staling of Artisanal Bread: Part 2 - How can the Specifics of Staling Be Slowed or Prevented?

Improved packaging would seem the obvious choice to the home baker, keeping a loaf sealed in an air tight box to prevent moisture loss, but this is not the main solution. 

More importantly, enzymes, additives and emulsifiers can be added to counteract the mechanical property changes associated with staling. However, out of the three, the focus for artisan bread should be on enzymes.

It is not only the finished loaf that is affected by enzyme addition. The dough itself is also affected, and this can be useful for the manufacturer. Enzymes can be used to give a soft, elastic dough with low stickiness.

Texture Analysis to Measure the Effects of Enzyme Addition on the Staling of Artisanal Bread: Part 1 – Why does Staling Occur?

Bread is a common, low cost food that is eaten readily worldwide, associated with traditions in many countries. 

However, there has been a movement over the last decade or two towards products that are marketed as ‘clean label’, ‘plant-based’ or ‘artisan’, so supermarket shelves are seeing a shift from soft crust, cuboid loaves in coloured plastic bags to rustic looking crusty bread. Artisan bread is a term that has no absolute definition but refers to a style of short shelf-life bread that is usually offered unpackaged (in baskets) and consumed immediately after baking for maximum freshness.

Texture Analysis in Research: Latest Fish applications

According to Allied Market Research, the global seafood market is projected to reach $155,316 million by 2023, registering a CAGR of 3.6% from 2017 to 2023. 

Seafood is an excellent source of nutrition and provides numerous health benefits. A rise in awareness about these benefits is helping to drive the growth of the global seafood market, as well as other factors such as increasing disposable income, changing lifestyles and consumer diet preferences.

Texture Analysis in Research: Fat Replacers

Manufacturers often have motivation to remove fat from food products, but when something is removed from a recipe, it inevitably has to be replaced with another ingredient. 

Sometimes that replacement is another type of fat, or it might be another ingredient altogether (to reduce the overall fat content of the food). Food manufacturers have to test the altered food in comparison with its original form to ensure that all textural properties remain the same within acceptable limits.

Dairy alternative market set to cause a stir

According to GlobeNewsWire, the global Dairy Alternatives market is expected to Reach USD 38.9 Billion by 2025. 

Factors like increasing awareness of consumers toward a vegan diet, lactose intolerance among the population and demand for various fortified dairy food and beverage applications are boosting the market growth. Whilst the high cost of dairy alternative milk and prominence of low cholesterol and low fat conventional milk will impede the market growth, the innovation in flavour and sources of dairy alternative beverages and increasing demand for soy milk, rice milk and almond milk proteins provide wider opportunity for the market to grow.

Texture Analysis in Research: Confectionery

Three point bend test 

The food industry is flourishing at a very high rate all across the globe and might serve as a major driver for the confectionery ingredients market. 

Confectionery ingredients provide stability, texture, and various other properties, and therefore, can be used to prepare a variety of food products. 

More than 70% of consumers prefer the use of products that contain natural ingredients and therefore chose the products that claim to have no artificial ingredients. The trend for the use of clean-label products is rising due to the increase in health awareness among the consumers, and therefore, the manufacturers of confectionery products are attempting to make use of ingredients to develop innovative products that have low-fat content, low sugar content, etc. The development of such food products might attract health-conscious consumers, and thus, there might be an increase in the confectionery ingredients market.

How to do TPA properly

Texture Profile Analysis (TPA) is a popular double compression test for determining the textural properties of foods. It is occasionally used in other industries, such as pharmaceuticals, gels, and personal care.

Texture Analysis in Research: Latest Dentistry applications

According to Statista, the global dental market is projected to grow to around 37 billion dollars by 2021, and current indicators show that the market will keep moving forward, primarily driven by the implant sector. Its success is due to progress in the fields of medical technologies and implant materials.

Campden BRI defines cake 'fluffiness'

What does fluffy actually mean and how can you measure it in a cake? 

Researchers at Campden BRI along with members of a research club including Kenwood/Delonghi (the makers of the domestic planetary mixers) and Upfield/Unilever (the producers of cake margarines) have been taking a good look at what makes a good cake. From their own research, Kenwood/Delonghi and Upfield/Unilever explained that consumers recognise fluffiness as an important parameter for cake quality. Campden BRI then set about to attempt to define cake fluffiness and to derive an equation to measure it.

The Packaging Research Revolution: Biodegradable Polymer Films

The majority of countries worldwide are making an effort to reduce their mark on the planet, and cutting down on plastics is an obvious place to start because of the availability of alternatives, and due to the large amount of waste they leave behind.

One of the largest sources of single use plastics is packaging. There is a large amount of academic and industrial research into this area. Stable Micro Systems equipment is a regular feature of publications due to the need for mechanical property analysis; one of the drawbacks of biodegradable polymers is their reduced structural integrity. Consequently, Texture Analysers are necessary to perform tests for both R&D and quality control, once the product has reached production. The following are a selection of recent publications into this interesting and important field, specifically those focussing on polymer films.

Texture Analysis: Latest Meat Applications

Collagen is the major fibrillar component and protein in both human and animal connective tissue. It is applied in medical preparations such as wound dressings and tissue engineering.

Meat and poultry production industries result in large amounts of organic waste, rich in collagen. Scientists from the University of Oslo have been investigating collagen from turkey tendons as a promising sustainable biomaterial for pharmaceutical use. The aim of this study was to isolate and characterise pepsin soluble collagen from turkey tendons.

Tribology testing continues on the Texture Analyser

Tribology, the study of friction, lubrication, and wear between two sliding surfaces, has been used for decades by the chemical and material engineering industries to determine the friction behaviour of various substances, such as lubricating oils and rubber. 

Practical applications of this testing are relatively straightforward: lubricants that provide low amounts of friction between sliding steel surfaces are useful to reduce friction from surface-surface contact, such as in mechanical pivots or sliding pistons.

Texture Analysis in Research: Insects as Food

With 9.6 billion people forecast to inhabit the planet in 2050, scientists have warned that population growth could lead to an unsustainable increase in food production if consumption patterns persist. 

Considering the rising world population and the scarce water and land resources, it is extremely important to find new and sustainable ways to produce food. Edible insects are particularly interesting due to their high protein content and lower environmental impacts compared to traditional livestock. They have been promoted as a source of nutrients able to contribute to the increasing need of animal protein in an environmentally sustainable fashion. In general, insects contain a considerable amount of protein with a well-balanced amino acid spectrum, a high amount of lipid, and a noteworthy content of micronutrients such as copper, zinc, and iron.

Testing Clean Label Personal Care & Cosmetic Products

It started with food. Now the “clean label” movement is influencing the development of personal care and cosmetic formulations. There is a lot of confusion of what exactly constitutes a “clean label” product. However, it is generally accepted that “clean label” means using as few ingredients as possible and using only ingredients that consumers recognise.

What’s behind the trend? Consumers are demanding products that they perceive are better for their bodies, families, and the environment. Market research shows consumers now rank natural ingredients and environmental impact ahead of brand

Texture Analysis in Research: Testing Skin

The study of the mechanical properties of soft tissues is valuable to evaluate the progress of diseases such as tumours and treatment effects, to simulate medical surgeries, to understand the aging process and to evaluate the efficacy of cosmetic products. Yet again, the Texture Analyser has proven to be an invaluable tool in the measurement of such samples.

Recently researchers from the National University of Colombia have investigated the influence of indentation test factors on the mechanical response of skin. 

Making up for Texture in Egg Free Food

The rise in demand for a plant based diet brings with it a wide range of challenges. However, there is one ingredient in particular that can cause big problems in its absence: the humble egg. 

Eggs play an important part in a lot of cooking because they have so many interesting functions. They can add shine to the top of pies, emulsify sauces, aerate chocolate mousse and add moisture and fat to cake.

Texture Analysis in Research: Latest Medical Applications

Scientists from the Thomas More University of Applied Sciences have been researching the use of a Texture Analyser to objectively quantify foot orthoses.

Foot orthoses alter the kinematics and kinetics of gait. With increasing importance of evidence-based practice and with the permanent development of subtractive manufacturing and introduction of additive manufacturing, there is a growing need for the quantification of orthoses parameters. This paper describes a measurement method and protocol to quantify different parameters of a foot orthosis. 

Consumers crave novel flavours, heat and unusual texture

When it comes to food and drink flavours, consumers are more difficult than ever to impress because of the amount of choice they are exposed to. 

As such, it is crucial that food and drinks are not only seen as appealing now but create some sense of excitement and adventure among consumers. Brands should push the boundaries of sensory appeal by continuing to launch products with new and innovative flavours and textures. The goal, when applicable, is to see these unusual flavours combined with novel textures and colours to create a truly unique consumption experience.

Texture Analysis in Research: Aging Population

Scientists from the National Agriculture and Food Research Organisation, Japan, have been researching compression tests of soft food gels using a soft machine with an artificial tongue. 

Easy to eat food is increasingly required in the advanced-aged society in Japan. Mechanical properties of such foods must be modified such that the foods are easily broken by the tongue without chewing. When foods are compressed between the tongue and the hard palate, the tongue deforms considerably, and only soft foods are broken. To simulate tongue compression of soft foods, artificial tongues with stiffness similar to that of the human tongue were created using clear soft materials. 

The Textural Challenges of a Vegan Diet

Veganism is growing in popularity due to increased education about its environmental, health and ethical benefits. 

An Alpro report from 2018 (‘Plant-Based Profits with Alpro and BB Food Service’) stated that the UK plant based market at the time was worth £443m, having grown by £129m in three years. Due to this growth, vegan alternatives to products traditionally made with animal produce have swarmed the food market, and most use the new term ‘plant-based’ to describe a vegan product. It is now possible to buy a vegan version of almost every animal based product from chocolate fudge cake to crispy duck, and new companies are popping up that are dedicated solely to plant alternatives.

Designing the best potato chip

Researchers have developed a method to analyse the physical characteristics of a potato chip at four stages of eating — from the first bite to the final swallow — to help formulate a tastier low-fat snack. The results of the research have been reported in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.  

While munching on low-fat potato chips might reduce the guilt compared with full-fat versions, many people don’t find the texture as appealing. Cutting fat in potato chips usually involves reducing the vegetable oil content but it’s the oil that helps give the product its characteristic crunch, taste and mouthfeel. 

Food On the Go

According to Kantar Worldpanel, the food-to-go market as a whole rose to be worth £25bn in the year preceding September 2018, and food manufacturers have kept up with rising demand with a stream of innovation that fits into busy, on-the-go schedules. Products are easy to carry around and made simple to eat in single servings, often with forks, spoons or chopsticks included in the packaging. This trend has arrived at the same time as an eco-friendlier generation, with increased interest in plant-based food and dislike of single-use plastics, so products with a high meat content and traditional plastic containers will likely be snubbed in the supermarket. 

Texture Analysis in Research: 3D printing Applications

At the University of Milan scientists have been researching 3D printed multi-compartment capsular devices for two-pulse oral drug delivery. 

The resistance to deformation of printed and moulded capsular devices was measured under compression using their TA.XTplus Texture Analyser.

This study helped to develop delivery methods for enhanced customisation of drug combinations. 

Read more >

Texture Analysis Latest Alternative Protein Applications

The meat substitutes market size is estimated to be worth 9.25 Billion USD by 2023.

Consuming meat for many is a part of their daily life, but the majority are opting for a healthy version by switching to non-meat foods for catering to their protein needs. 

Avoiding or restricting meat in the diet may be challenging, yet with the nutritional, environmental and health benefits of selecting meat substitutes over meat, this challenge will be worth the effort.

Why measure just one Texture Analysis parameter?

Apricots have a short storage life principally caused by a rapid softening, which increases the sensitivity of the fruit to mechanical damage, and to the development of fungal diseases.

The current methods to assess fruit firmness give limited information on the evolution and the mechanisms of softening. 

Texture Analysis in Research: Packaging Applications

Due to consumers now hating plastic, waste companies are being forced to find alternative solutions.

The holy grail of packaging development is now to present a recyclable, compostable, biodegradable and environmentally friendly solution which does not compromise on packaging integrity and desired performance.

Researchers from the National University of Trujillo have been investigating biodegradable foam trays based on starches isolated from different Peruvian species.

Texture Analysis in Action: Universal Sample Clamp

Universal Sample Clamp

When penetrating, extruding or cutting a sample during a test it is common that the sample sometimes needs to be held down manually in order to avoid it being lifted up with the withdrawing probe or fixture.  

The penetration of a margarine sample, the cutting of a piece of meat or the backward extrusion of a thick moisturising cream are typical examples when this may occur. 

The resulting measured forces of this occurrence will be displaying the weight of the material (and/or its supporting packaging) being lifted rather than the forces necessary to withdraw from the sample. If lifting of the sample occurs the graph that is obtained will not therefore reflect the entire true textural profile of the sample.