Moisture Test

Our standard turnaround time is 10 business days for most assays. There are some assays that require a longer turnaround time. We also offer a RUSH service that is half the time of the standard turnaround time of the assay at double the cost of the assay. A few assays that we provide cannot be rushed due to the nature of the test. Please check the specific assay you are interested in regarding the ability to RUSH the turnaround time.

Medallion Labs has moisture testing options for gravimetric and Moisture by Karl Fischer Titration tests. The Moisture Gravimetric tests use Forced Air or Vacuum Ovens to measure loss on drying. The gravimetric tests provide accurate results for most food products. Moisture by Karl Fischer is recommended for a narrower range of samples, including: Fat/oils, samples that contain glycerol or high amounts of flavorings/oils, and samples that contain very high levels of fat.

A general guideline is that the higher the moisture content, the faster a product will spoil or have a decline in quality.

Moisture content by itself may not impact these attributes, however, it is important to look at a product holistically if these are areas of concern. For example, a common misconception is that moisture content directly affects microbial growth. Instead, a Water Activity test may be a better indicator of the susceptibility of a product to have microbial activity. For a real life example, many dried fruits have moisture contents >20%, but they do not readily spoil at room temperature. In these cases, moisture content alone is not enough to determine the impact to quality or safety.

Calories and Carbohydrate values are based on equations that involve the moisture value. Higher moisture levels can also have a dilution effect on nutrition testing, so it is important to consider the moisture content of the sample being submitted for testing, as well as the moisture content of the final product that consumers are using.