Formulation, as well as food product improvement, requires multidisciplinary knowledge and skills. Our laboratory has an experienced research team and specific equipment adapted to this approach. It supports companies both in the creation and evolution of their products; from formulation to market launch.
To achieve these objectives, our team has specific equipment.
GC-MS-ODP is one of the advanced pieces of equipment in our laboratory. This tool, used by some “Chefs,” supports the aromatic orientation of new recipes: this is the method known as Food Pairing.
Other scientific approaches are also used where appropriate. These notably stem from gastronomic engineering: a method that involves testing new technologies to facilitate product development. It involves the latest knowledge in terms of new ingredients and additives.
The laboratory is also able to offer follow-up to optimally transpose these newly created formulations to pilot and/or industrial scale, either directly or through one of its partners.
To support companies regarding all characteristics of developed products, the formulation laboratory also relies on the knowledge and expertise of physico-chemical analysis and sensory analysis laboratories for the development of nutritional labels, as well as for estimating the DLC/DDM of finished products.
Nutritional quality, raw material control, and verification of the specifications‘ suitability for the finished product are all necessary data during the development or modification of food products.
Our laboratory can assist you in preparing the nutritional declaration and labeling of your products, in compliance with current regulations. Depending on your product’s specificity, nutritional values are either calculated based on your recipe or analyzed physico-chemically (analyses can be subcontracted to our partner).
For certain specific products, companies have a particular interest in mentioning additional elements. These products primarily serve a health interest. The information mentioned serves both to inform the consumer and offers a clear marketing advantage.
This is particularly the case for products enriched with vitamins, minerals, or proteins.
As part of the latest research activities conducted in the laboratory, our teams have developed extraction and analysis methods specific to protein-rich products. These analyses involve the creation of essential amino acid profiles (aminograms) in complex matrices. Digestibility in vitro tests have also been developed to estimate the effectiveness of the developed recipes.
Estimating a product’s shelf life is one of the mandatory labeling requirements. It is established by the company marketing its food product. This information serves to guarantee the consumer both the good microbiological quality (DLC) of a product and an organoleptic quality that meets their expectations (DDM).
Our laboratory has the necessary equipment (climatic chambers) and experience to conduct real-time and/or accelerated shelf-life studies for food products.
The analyses and advice it can offer are numerous and depend on the company’s objectives:
To determine a product’s DLC or DDM, the laboratory also offers manufacturers the expertise of its Sensory Analysis and Formulation and Product Improvement laboratories.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which constitute the odors and aromas of products, are molecules “emitted” by “objects,” whether food-related or not. These compounds determine a certain olfactory and aromatic quality of the product, and they are also good indicators of defects.
In most cases, these defects do not pose a health risk to the consumer, but they have direct consequences negative on the image of the product sold. Their origins are diverse.
Contamination problems can arise from cleaning a production line, direct or indirect contact with an external aromatic source (processing, environment, etc.), a raw material itself having a defect, or the premature aging of a product. Among the most frequent causes are contaminations related to packaging.
Indeed, new restrictions related to increasingly strict regulations compel companies to find new packaging materials for the packaging of their products. However, even if the material used is validated for food contact, some non-toxic aromatic molecules can alter the aromas of the packaged food product; this is the case with certain glues or inks.
Thanks to adapted equipment and specific interpretation methods, we are able to perform the analyses necessary for the study of VOCs and the products from which they emanate. The approach most often combines physico-chemical analyses with tests conducted by a trained sensory panel (in coordination with the sensory analysis laboratory).