Through our Process Innovation Laboratory, we’re happy to assist you with water activity and pH analysis of your new food product, develop a Nutrition Facts Label, and provide a scheduled process for food with a pH lower than 4.6.
Our current turnaround for analysis and documentation is approximately 2-4 weeks (excluding holidays, staff illness or other unforeseen circumstances) depending on the complexity of the product submitted and our workload.
See below for detailed information on each service and step-by-step submission instructions. The submission process is the same for all services. Missing or incomplete forms may result in processing delays.
Please contact us at foodsci_ext@utk.edu so we know to expect your sample and to verify what type of analyses you will need.
List of Services
Water activity & pH
analysis
Water activity: $35 per sample
pH: $10 per sample
Water activity and/or pH analysis requires at least 4 ounces of each sample.
Nutrition Facts
Panel
Nutritional Facts Panel: $100 per sample
We develop a Nutrition Facts Panel for your product based on ingredients and formulation. We do not have the resources to analyze the nutritional content of a sample. We do not require any sample for this service.
Process letter for Formulated Acid & Acidified Foods
Hot Fill/Cold Fill: $100 per sample
Water Bath: $400 per sample
Hot Fill/Cold Fill process requires at least 4 ounces of each sample to analyze/confirm the pH and/or water activity of your product.
Water bath process requires at least 6 FULL CONTAINERS of product for each container type/size instead of 4 oz.
Submission Process
The submission process is the same for all services. Missing or incomplete forms may result in processing delays.
Complete the Sample Submission Form:
1. Save PDF to your computer.
2. Fill out the form. When completing this form, please make sure to list formulation by WEIGHTS, and provide detailed, step-by-step instructions for the production process. Include the processing details for each step such as temperature, time, filling/packaging size.
3. Save and print.
Complete the Product Formulation-Percentage by Weight Form:
1. Save PDF to your computer.
2. Fill out the form. When completing this form, please make sure to use the same units of measurement for weighing each ingredient (i.e., grams, ounces, pounds, etc.). Do not use cups, tsp, tbsp, or fluid ounces.
3. Save and print.
Mail or drop-off the followings to the address below:
1. At least 4 ounces of each sample for pH or water activity analysis, – make sure to label each sample container with the product name, contact name (either company or your name), and bottling date.
2. Payment
3. Sample submission form, and
4. Product formulation-percentage by weight form to:
University of Tennessee
Process Innovation Laboratory
2510 River Dr.
Food Science Building
Knoxville, TN 37996
