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Stratford-Upon-Avon Foods Ltd. uses a custom made anvil to replicate the biting action
into a variety of foods
Stratford-Upon-Avon Foods Ltd. (SonA) is one of the UK's leading suppliers of pickled products.
With a customer portfolio that includes almost all major supermarket chains, they know the
importance of product quality. For example, pickles must be the right texture to eat; while this
may seem trivial, it can be a technical minefield. But with help from Instron, SonA has
successfully developed a test which provides accurate information on how beetroot is affected
during the cooking process.
Using an Instron 5542 testing system with Merlin™ software along with a specially engineered
anvil, SonA scientists can now perform compression tests to simulate the action of 'biting'
through a slice of beetroot. The result is a major improvement in accuracy, compared to the older
and less reliable method of crushing the product through a tenderometer.
Biting in Graphical Form
As the anvil cuts through the center of a slice of beetroot, the test measures compression in
kilograms and displays the results instantly in graphical form on a computer screen. These results
offer a true indication of the complex forces involved in the apparently simple matter of biting
into one of our favorite pickles. With initial trials complete, SonA has also been able to
introduce other products such as gherkins and onions to compression 'bite' testing. The Instron
system is proving to be of invaluable assistance in the development of new products.
Having taken the Instron route, SonA can boast higher accuracy of results and consistent product
quality. This in turn builds customer demand and in the competitive world of retail foods, you
can be sure that the competition will be in a right pickle!
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