Hosiery put to the test!

A pair of tights is usually put on with a certain amount of stretching, and fingernails or jewellery often snags on a single thread that will turn into a run or “ladder” once the leg is applying stress to the tights. 

Additionally, a ladder may be caused during the working day, such as a snag occurring when the tights are pushed against the underside of a desk. This can greatly inconvenience the wearer as it appears unprofessional and they may not have a spare pair. It can also be expensive.

The Importance of Texture Analysis in Cosmetic Stability Testing

Cosmetics companies! Can you say with confidence that a product your customer buys in bulk today will have the same excellent qualities they expect from your brand when they open it in six months’ time?

If not, you need to start stability testing, pronto.

Stability testing is simply the assessment of the lasting power of a cosmetic, during which samples of it are put under different environmental conditions for a set time period, and its properties analysed. These conditions vary in light, temperature, pressure and humidity levels and are designed to imitate what the product may be subjected to during its lifetime.

Texture Analysis of Surimi Products: 3: Elasticity

Shellfish has a characteristically chewy texture; to create a convincing comminuted product, manufacturers need to imitate this. 

In texture analysis terms, chewiness is measured by elasticity. High elasticity produces an item with a rubbery consistency (Figure 7) whereas low elasticity creates an undesirably brittle product.

Texture Analysis of Surimi Products: 2: Toughness – Measurement using Cutting/Shearing Tests

Preparation processes can detrimentally affect the texture of imitation shell-fish products and affect repeat purchase decisions. 

During new product development manufacturers must consider the effect of these processes on the structure of surimi with regard to toughness. 

Texture Analysis of Surimi Products: 1: Introduction; Gel Strength (Stiffness)

A predominant ingredient in the Orient is fish – used both fresh and comminuted as surimi fish mince.

Made for centuries by the Japanese and thought to date as far back as 1100AD, surimi is now spreading from Japanese to Western processed foods and is used to form extruded, shaped or cooked simulated shell-fish meat products such as crab, lobster, scallop or shrimp.

To gain consumer acceptance of imitation shell-fish, the texture, flavour and appearance of fresh shell-fish must be matched as closely as possible. This has successfully been achieved by Japanese processors who produce surimi as an economic alternative to fresh fillets and imitation shell-fish which are barely distinguishable from the real thing. 

Physical Analysis: Putting Cosmetics to the Test

A customer walks into a pharmacy looking for a new cream to keep their hands soft. They don’t have much to go by other than packaging and price, so they choose the same brand they use on their face. 

They get outside and squeeze some out of the tube with their normal pressure, and their palm fills up with too much thin, watery cream that seems to do nothing to remove the dryness. A disappointed customer, and the very reason the cosmetics company should have used physical analysis on their cream before they released it for sale.

Chips, Crisps & Mash – Getting the Texture Right!

Potatoes are a common, even basic, vegetable in Western diets, in some cases assuming the status of a staple.

Potato snack foods include French Fries and dried miniature versions of them (chips in the US sense, or crisps in UK) in many flavours. They appear as mashed potato in many convenience meals such as TV dinners, and as potato salads in take-away meals.

Adding Texture to Tea

The best discoveries are total accidents, and bubble tea is no exception. 

The drink as we know it today found its origins in Taiwan in 1988 when Lin Hsiu Hui, a product developer in a tea house, decided on a whim to pour her tapioca pudding into her iced tea. 

Perhaps excited by the extra level of texture she had incorporated into her drink, she passed it around the meeting room and it was met with acclaim; the product was tweaked and brought onto the market, and its sales rocketed.