What Is Carbohydrate Analysis, and Why Is It Important?
Carbohydrates are essential food components for our bodies. They fuel us and give us the energy we need to get through the day. The food industry is highly scientific—we’ll break down what carbohydrate analysis is and why it’s important below.
What Is Carbohydrate Analysis?
Carbohydrate analysis is the measurement of the carbohydrates found in a particular food. Carbohydrates may be found as individual molecules or attached to other molecules, either physically or chemically. Some carbohydrates are digestible, providing us with sources of energy. Other carbohydrates are not digestible. Indigestible carbohydrates are part of a group of substances known as soluble fibesr. Through the past few decades, nutritionists have discovered the importance of fiber in the diet. Fiber has proven to be beneficial because it can reduce certain types of cancer, coronary heart diseases, diabetes, and constipation.
Why Is It Important?
Carbohydrates also contribute to the texture, sweetness, and appearance of many foods. These are a handful of other reasons why the type and concentration of carbohydrates in food is essential:
Detection of adulteration: Each food type has a carbohydrate “fingerprint.”
Economical: The food industry doesn’t want to waste expensive ingredients.
Food processing: The efficiency of many food processing operations depends on the type and concentration of carbohydrates present.
Food quality: Physiochemical properties such as appearance, stability, sweetness, and texture depend on the type and concentration of carbohydrates present.
Nutritional labeling: This informs consumers of the nutritional content of foods.
Standards of identity: Foods must have compositions that conform to government regulations.
Method of Analysis
A few different methods of analysis are performed to measure the carbohydrate content. One of them is HPLC, or high-performance liquid chromatography. This analytical chemistry technique is used to separate, identify, and quantify each component in a mixture. HPLC needs the proper columns to determine the correct carbohydrate amount.
The next time you pick up a piece of bread or pour yourself a bowl of cereal, think about the process that went into the breakdown of its nutritional value. Refer back to carbohydrate analysis and why it’s important the next time you want to peek into the food industry.