Zeelandia, a global bakery ingredients manufacturer, has pioneered an exciting new testing method to determine the crustiness of bakery products using the TA.XTplus Texture Analyser.

Combining the texture analyser bread ‘V’ squeeze test with simultaneous acoustic measurements, Zeelandia obtains detailed objective analysis of crust breakage. This enables the company to develop high-performance ingredients that respond to a dynamic and growing sector of the bakery market.

Crustiness is an attribute increasingly sought by consumers, who now enjoy an unprecedented range of international bakery products, including baguettes, ciabattas, focaccias and crusty bread rolls. A dry, crusty outer texture and a crispy sound are an essential part of the eating experience.

The new test combines the use of a microphone with the bread ‘V’ squeeze attachment. This device comprises two ‘V’ shaped, rounded fingers, which are lowered onto the sample and which squeeze it for a defined period of time, or to a specified distance. Exponent software measures the force required to compress the sample and the sounds emitted as compression takes place. The higher the force reading and acoustic emissions, the crustier the product is deemed to be.

Henk Mulder, physical scientist at Zeelandia, comments, “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”.

Coen Sander, Zeelandia’s food scientist, adds, “Perfecting texture in crusty products is particularly challenging because despite the crunchy crust, we’re often also seeking a soft centre – all with maximum shelf life. We’re now testing a wide range of finished baked products containing different Zeelandia ingredients in varying proportions. Collating and comparing these detailed test results means we can evaluate the impact of changes to recipes and processing conditions.”

Conny van Loon, Stable Micro Systems’ sales manager in the Netherlands, sums up. “This is the latest example of a customer developing bespoke tests to respond to its own needs, and those of its market. Zeelandia can now offer its customers even more valuable technical support, as well as continuing to improve its own product offering”.

For more detailed information on our attachments for the bakery industry, or for 'Measure More Than Force' applications, please email us.

We are now introducing a new 500g loadcell to provide even more precision in low force applications.

We have always advised on the importance of choosing the correct loadcell capacity to meet the needs of the typical force measuring range for each application.

As such, we have historically provided a range of loadcell capacities from 5kg to 750kg. For those users measuring low forces, such as in the testing of gels, dough and films, it is important to obtain a force measurement with high precision and minimal noise variation when the force range can be down at 10s of grams.

This new 500g loadcell provides a high resolution force output and noise reduced to at least ten times less than its 30kg counterpart. It also offers the setting of considerably lower trigger forces than is possible from other loadcell capacities, whilst also being a mechanically robust solution.

For more information on this, or on any of our range of loadcells, please email us.

Researchers at the School of Medicine in the University of Zagreb has been studying the biomechanical properties of bones from rats treated with sevelamer.

Sevelamer has been used for ten years to lower high blood phosphorus (phosphate) levels in patients who are on dialysis due to severe kidney disease.

Dialysis removes some phosphate from your blood, but it is difficult to remove enough to keep phosphate levels balanced. Decreasing blood phosphate levels can help keep bones strong, prevent unsafe buildup of minerals in the body, and possibly decrease the risk of heart disease and strokes that can result from high phosphate levels.
Sevelamer works by holding onto phosphate from the diet so that it can pass out of your body. It was given to rats for 25 weeks in a standard diet.

Tests utilised a three-point bending test to determine the mechanical properties of the cortical bone of the mid-shaft femur, while an indentation test was used to determine the mechanical properties of cancellous bone in the marrow cavity of the distal femoral metaphysis. Parameters analysed included: maximum load, stiffness, energy absorbed, toughness and ultimate strength and highlighted that sevelamer significantly improves bone biomechanical properties, mainly affecting trabecular bone quality.

The full details of this paper entitled ‘Biochemical Properties of Bones from Rats Treated with Sevelamer’ can be found in Coll. Antropol. 35 (2011) 2: 557-563. The authors, Natasa Drača, Ana Tikvica, Domgoj Eljuga, Damir Semenski, Mladen Brnčic and Slobodan Vukičević, are based in the School of Medicine Laboratory for Mineralized Tissues, University Hospital Centre Department of Surgery, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering & Naval Architecture and the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology at the University of Zagreb, Croatia.

We are pleased to offer our users a range of posters, articles and Application Overviews.

These cover a range of topics which will be of interest to texture analysis professionals.

(Please ensure that your e-mail account quota is not exceeded by the item(s) you have requested, as this is the most common delivery failure.)

To request any of these documents, please visit the Resource Request page of our website.

Stable Micro Systems are still able to offer upgrade paths for TA.XT2i Texture Analyser instruments to a TA.XTplus specification.


To investigate the benefits and receive a quotation please contact: sales@stablemicrosystems.com

Our representatives will be available at each of these events. Please visit us on our stand to discuss your texture analysis problems and requirements – we will be only too pleased to help you!

• IFT
14 –17 July
Chicago, USA... website

• Controlled Release Society Meeting
21-24 July
Hawaii, USA... website

• Pharm-Sci
2-4September
Herriot Watt University, Edinburgh... website

• The 1st UK Hydrocolloids Symposium
10 September
University of Huddersfield... website

• FIA
11-13 September
Bangkok, Thailand... website

• AACC Annual meeting
29 September-1 October
Albuquerque, USA... website

• “Free From” Bakery technology conference
10-11 October
Campden BRI... website

• In-cosmetics Asia
29-31 October
Bangkok, Thailand... website

• IFSCC Conference & Exhibition
30 October – 1 November
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil... website

• Food Ingredients Europe & Natural Ingredients Europe
19-21 November
Frankfurt, Germany... website

Places are available on our one day courses for anyone wishing to obtain the maximum benefit from the use of Stable Micro Systems' range of texture analysis equipment and software.

UK Training Courses available for 2013:

• Wednesday 24th July 2013
• Wednesday 25th September 2013
• Wednesday 23rd October 2013
• Wednesday 20th November 2013

Book your place today – email: sales@stablemicrosystems.com