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Measurement of Calcium in Cheese

Description


Cheese  comes in  many varieties  and   is made from  milk of various animals, including cows, sheep, goats and horses. The variety determines the ingredients, processing, and characteristics of the cheese. As milk sours, it breaks down into curds, lumps of phosphoprotein, and  whey. It is the curds that are used to make cheese. Cheese can   be broadly  categorized  as  acid  or  rennet cheese and  natural or process cheese. Acid cheeses are made by adding acid to the milk that causes the proteins to coagulate.

Cheese is one of  the most nutrient rich  foods containing proteins, fats, salts, calcium, magnesium  and   phosphates.  Other  than supplying   nutrition,   these  components play a major  role  in  the formation  of  cheese.  For instance, salts, calcium  and  phosphate have an important role in the rennet coagulation of milk and in the structure and buffering of cheese.

Calcium concentration has  a major impact on the final properties of the cheese. The concentration of calcium  in cheese affects the aggregation of renneted casein  micelles;  this  is a major  factor in determining the softening, melting and  flow characteristics of  cheese. Additionally, calcium content affects the buffering capacity of cheese. As  calcium   content  decreases, the  pH  of  the cheese increases. Calcium also affects the protein level and  moisture content in cheese. As calcium content decreases, protein level decreases and moisture content increases, and  thus eventually the fluidity increases. For these reasons, calcium is a commonly measured parameter throughout the cheese making process.


Application


A local lab set up  for  analysis of dairy  products contacted    Hanna   Instruments    looking     for a   way    to  analyze   the  calcium    content  in cheese  potentiometrically.  The  customer wanted to comply  with the International Dairy Federation  method for  the titrimetric  analysis of   calcium    in   milk.  In  accordance  with  this method, Hanna Instruments suggested the HI902   Potentiometric   Titrator   and   HI4104
Combination Calcium ISE. Samples were prepared by taking a known weight of the cheese sample, finely  grinding  it  and    then  heating  it  with distilled  water and   concentrated sulfuric  acid for a set amount of time. The solution was then neutralized  using sodium  hydroxide,  buffered with  an  ammonium  chloride-ammonium hydroxide buffer, and titrated with EDTA.



 The customer was quite pleased with the versatility   of   the  HI902,   which   could    also measure  the  pH   of   various   dairy    samples bought to their lab as well as automate their TA titrations,  which  they  were  previously  doing by  hand.  The ability  of  the HI902  to support two electrodes,  two  pumps, and   two boards made  for   easy  automation of   both  calcium and  TA measurements. The customer also inquired  about in the future, adding  a  method for  measuring  protein  in their  cheese via  the TKN  titration  method.  

 They were  impressed with  the knowledge of   the  Hanna Technical Sales Representative and Applications Engineer that were onsite during their installation. The Hanna Team was able to provide the customer an  overview of the TKN procedure, as  well as  a list
of  the required materials for  the necessary digestion.

Since the HI902 performs all  calculations and prepares the graph simultaneously during the titration, the customer saved a lot of  time and eventually the number of samples analyzed per day  increased. They were quite pleased that a printer could be directly attached to the titrator, which saved them from  transferring files to PC and  then taking printouts to be further given to their customers. The HI902 offered the customer a comprehensive testing solution for their dairy sample analyses.

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