Food and Beverage

Monitoring and Quality Control for the Food & Beverage Industry

Increased concerns over safety, quality, and sustainability are just three of the many issues impacting the food & beverage industry. Xylem's focus is to help solve these challenges by providing innovative, cost-effective product solutions and services that makes the job of delivering safe, high quality, consistent food products and efficient process.
For over a century, Xylem's well known global brands have served the food & beverage market. We offer deep application expertise from decades of leading innovation with products, systems and services that address the full cycle of food and beverage production.
Our products are sold into more than 150 countries.
Working in true partnership with our customers and end users, we listen, learn and adapt to local environments, delivering solutions with more impact than ever before.
Our holistic approach to the food and beverage market enables our customers to better control their business by increasing productivity and maximizing energy and cost savings, all whilst using water in a responsible and efficient manner.

Water Monitoring

Water Monitoring

Water is the lifeblood of the food and beverage industry. In fact, up to 70% of the world's freshwater consumption is in agriculture, which is very much used for food crops. The quality of every important ingredient is crucial. Xylem offers a full range of WTW, YSI, SI Analytics, Sontek and OI Analytical products for water quality, flow and level.

Xylem's WTW and YSI brands are leaders in water quality measurement. Handheld instruments for measuring a variety of parameters, including pH, conductivity, temperature, TDS and DO, are used to test irrigation channels, wash water, retention basins and in hydroponics.
Livestock

Livestock and aquaculture

Xylem offers innovative, cost-effective products that make the operation of sustainable and efficient aquaculture as easy as possible. Our instrument set for aquaculture includes pH and turbidity colorimeters with integrated pH correction and over 135 preprogrammed methods such as CO2 and NH3, refractometers for fast salinity measurement and a range of immersion sensors for temperature, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen. Meanwhile, refractometers are used to determine the quality of colostrum fed to newborn calves, foals and lambs, giving them a better chance of surviving the critical first days of their lives. Portable pH and conductivity meters monitor the level of wastewater and the quality of the pond water in a large farm.
Fruit & Veg

Fruit & Veg

Xylem has a range of instruments for measuring pH, conductivity, temperature and turbidity that are used throughout the production process. OI Analytical Gas Chromatography (GC) detectors often analyze a range of raw materials for authenticity and pesticide residues, while YSI biochemistry analyzers can measure the chemistry of vegetables.

One of the most commonly used instruments is a refractometer that determines the brix content of sugary foods. A refractometer for monitoring fruit ripening on trees is of utmost importance as farmers are judged on the sugar content at the point of sale for supermarkets and cooperatives.
Flavours & Essences

Flavours & Essences

When it comes to deciding which food to eat, taste is undoubtedly the most important factor. Accurate and reproducible quality control plays an important role in determining the taste in food and beverage products. Xylem can help you with that.

Refractive index measurements by wide-range refractometers, optical rotation by polarimeters, and water content monitoring with the most accurate titrator are critical to the process, with special titrations for ketones, aldehydes, esters, lactones, halides, amines, and peroxides enabled by the latest technology in TitroLine titrators.
Sugar & Edible Oils

Sugar & Edible Oils

Juice and oil derived from vegetables and tubers in the form of sugar liquids and oils are an integral part of the food industry, and many of the methods and analytical methods used therein are commonplace.

Bellingham + Stanley high-precision Peltier temperature-controlled refractometers operated at elevated temperatures are used to determine mixing ratios of oils for food use. These include palm, corn and sunflower oil. When equipped with flow cells, the refractometer and saccharimeter are part of a high-precision sugar purification system that is used to process and pay for sugar beet and cane and is one of the most cost-effective purity systems available.

TitroLine titrators can be used to determine the water content of oils, while pHotoFlex and pHotoLab photometers are used for the chemical analysis of sugars and edible oils.
Drinks
Soda & fruit juice

Carbonated soft drinks and mixed juice drinks make up one of the largest single areas of the food and beverage industry. These drinks are made from a blend of expensive flavors, natural and synthetic sweeteners and unique ingredients like caffeine and preservatives. Xylem's instruments provide comprehensive food safety and quality control, as well as the ability to maintain production yield, thus keeping costs and profits in check.

Refractometers are used for syrup mixing and dilution control, and in addition to a titrator, can provide both nutrient dilution control and acidity monitoring.

Refractometers and titrators also help to monitor and control fruit juice concentrations from pulp, concentrate or freshly pressed ready-to-drink (RTD).
Beer, Cider, Wine

Beer, Cider, Wine

Xylem instruments are common throughout the wine making process. Farmers continuously monitor the sugar content of fruit cultivation with a hand-held refractometer so that they harvest at the optimal time for delivery to the cooperatives. These in turn pay against quantity (weight) and quality (% mass, Brix, Oechsle, Baume, probable alcohol) of the must, measured with a table refractometer.

Oxygen content can be measured with WTW's MultiLine gauges, while TitroLine titrators perform multiple in-house analyzes, including free SO2 analysis, total titratable acid (TA), and total sulfurous acid (sulfite).

Beer brewing is more popular nowadays than ever, but the processes in which we can monitor and control quality are far more advanced than before. The automatic determination of alpha acids in hop extracts using conductometric titration is of paramount importance for beers that are consistent, and the FDA compliant TitroLine titrator delivers this in accordance with EBC 7.4. Handheld refractometers with specific gravity scales are used to control the entire "mash" or "wort" before fermentation.

Spectrophotometers such as WTW's photoLab can provide many of the other required analyzes, including bitterness, total polyphenols (EBC method), reduction capacity (potential), anthocyanogens, color (EBC and ASBC methods), free amine nitrogen (FAN), steam-volatile phenols ( smoked malt for smoked beer only), photometric iodine test and TAN (thiobarbituric acid number).
HACCP
HACCP instruments

Food safety is of paramount importance throughout the food chain. Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP) is an internationally recognized system that ensures that the food we eat undergoes a rigorous quality control audit trail. Governments around the world are adopting various HACCP levels, advising producers and distributors on their local needs. Special procedures for milk, meat and fruit juice are published, and many of Xylem's food and beverage products play an important role in the procedures.
pH, conductivity, oxygen and above all temperature are usually tested.

Titration and spectrophotometry also meet the needs of manufacturers when testing goods for incoming debris and contaminants.

Meanwhile, consumers are being protected by food inspectors who are sampling to ensure that meat and other foods susceptible to microbial attack are save. Please find all further information regarding HACCP on our ebro HACCP page.