The Volscan Profiler in Food Research

The Volscan Profiler was originally designed for use with bakery products. However, its use has exploded into other industries in the past few years, both food- and non-food-based. Not only is volume critical to bakery products, it is also an important physical property of agricultural products, meat, fish and packaging.

Agricultural products have the characteristic of being ‘low value added’ when compared with other industrial commodities. As a result, the application of state-of-the-art technology to the agricultural sector has been slow; it is only in relatively recent times that various up-to-date techniques have reached the point of practical implementation.

Previous volume methods may have involved simple water displacement; however, this method produces one volume value that is usually manually recorded and so attracts operator inaccuracy with no data archiving system for future retrieval. Fluid displacement techniques are also unsuitable for porous materials.

The Volscan Profiler is a benchtop laser based scanner that measures the volume, density and dimensional profiles of products with maximum dimensions of 600mm long and 380mm diameter, with a typical test time of less than 60 seconds. As well as volume, numerous related parameters are automatically measured, such as product height, width, length and surface area. It also enables the rapid 3-dimensional digitisation of products that can be archived and then treated mathematically to yield detailed dimensional information for immediate use or future retrieval.

This instrument rapidly provides the accurate data essential in the fields of both Quality Control and Product Development. There have been countless publications since the launch of the Volscan Profiler over ten years ago showing its versatility in both academic and industrial settings. Some examples of the most recent Volscan research in the wide food industry are outlined below.

Comparison of explosion puffing drying with other methods on the physicochemical properties and volatiles of yam (Dioscorea opposita thunb.) chips through multivariate analysis – Researchers from Liaoning University used their Volscan Profiler to measure the bulk volume of yam chips. 

Multivariate analyses of the physicochemical properties of turnip (Brassica rapa L.) chips dried using different methods – Scientists from Liaoning University also used their Volscan Profiler to measure the bulk volume of their turnip chips. 

Sample and scan of fish using the Volscan Profiler

Quality and protein degradation of golden pompano (Trachinotus blochii) fillets during four drying methods - Researchers from Hainan University used their Volscan Profiler to measure the volume of fish fillets. 

The impacts of vacuum microwave drying on osmosis dehydration of tilapia fillets - Scientists from Hainan University used their Volscan Profiler to measure tilapia sample volumes. 

Relationship between quality characteristics and skin color of ‘Fuji’ Apples (Malus domestica Borkh.) – Scientists from Korea Food Research Institute used their Volscan Profiler to measure the volume and weight of apples.

Samples and corresponding scans of fruit using the Volscan Profiler 

Antioxidant profile of thinned young and ripe fruits of Chinese peach and nectarine varieties – Researchers from Shenyang Agricultural University used their Volscan Profiler to measure fruit volume. 

Sample and corresponding scan of an egg using the Volscan Profiler and Exponent software

Evaluation of current and emerging techniques for measuring eggshell integrity of the domestic fowl – Researchers from the University of Kentucky used their Volscan Profiler to measure egg dimensions. 

In a fast-paced food industry, rapid product measurement and provision of automatically calculated quality control pass or fail benchmarks is key to manufacturing intelligence and success. The Volscan Profiler has been helping manufacturers to achieve these aims for over a decade.

If you’re interested in even more of the latest research using the Volscan Profiler see this Google Scholar roundup

Find out more about the parameters that a Volscan Profiler can measure for food products. 

There is a Texture Analysis test for virtually any physical property. Contact Stable Micro Systems today to learn more about our full range of solutions.

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For more information on how to measure texture, please visit the Texture Analysis Properties section on our website.

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