Hanna Instruments Professional Foodcare pH Meters

Hanna Instruments has launched a line of portable pH meters for the food industry. The Professional Foodcare pH Meter range includes a general-purpose model (HI98161) and versions specific for milk (HI98163), yoghurt (HI98164) and cheese (HI98165) products. Each meter is supplied with a unique pH/temperature probe that has been modified to deliver high performance and reliability.

The pH of a food can influence taste and texture and can also indicate the potential for spoilage. Industries are often required to measure pH and document the readings for record keeping. The meters allows for the log-on demand of measurements that can then be transferred to a Windows-compatible computer with the supplied USB cable and software. The Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) data including calibrations date, time, offset, slope and buffers used is also transferred with logged readings for increased traceability.

During the calibration process, the user is alerted if the electrode needs to be cleaned or if buffers are contaminated; and after calibration, the overall condition of the pH electrode is displayed as a percentage. The overall condition is based on the offset and slope characteristic of the pH electrode.

From refrigerated products, high solid content slurries and solids to semi-solids, food products can challenge a standard pH electrode. Each pH electrode supplied with the application-specific meters has unique features including the body material used, the shape of the sensing tip, the type of glass used and most importantly, the reference junction. Many of the electrodes have an open junction design that resists clogging.