Scientist Live: "Pharmaceutical Industry Trends"
June 22, 2021 - Scientist Live
Dr. Brady Carter discusses the new standard for water activity measurement
Water activity has been broadly used in the pharmaceutical industry since the publication in 2006 of USP <1112>, an informational chapter on the application of water activity in pharma. Although <1112> provided guidance for the utilization of water activity, it was not an official method. Now USP has developed USP <922> Water Activity as an official method that will hopefully further facilitate its implementation as an integral part of a pharmaceutical quality program.
Water Activity Standards: A Review
Since water activity testing is critical to ensure quality and safety of manufactured products, it is common to find water activity instruments in most quality assurance laboratories. As with any laboratory test method, good laboratory practices require routine verification assessments for water activity to make sure the instrumentation is working properly. This can be accomplished by running tests on standards of known value and comparing the test results to the actual values. While this can be difficult for some common quality assurance tests that do not have independent standards, such as moisture content, water activity standards exist in the form of electrolytic (salt) solutions. These water activity standards are one of the most important tools available to laboratory personnel to provide them with confidence in their water activity testing results and facilitate troubleshooting.
Scientist Live: "Accuracy Needed In Shelf-life Modelling"
January 4, 2022 - Scientist Live
Dr. Brady Carter on modelling shelf life with water activity
The shelf life of a product is defined as the practical time that it remains desirable to consumers. It dictates the radius of distribution for the product, how it must be stored and its best by date. Failure to match this expected shelf life can result in customer complaints, product recalls and tarnished reputation. Consequently, correctly determining the optimal production process and handling that maximizes the shelf life and then monitoring to make sure those conditions are met is the difference between profitability and lost revenue.
Read more: Scientist Live: "Accuracy Needed In Shelf-life Modelling"
Water Activity Test Time: It's the Sample, Not the Instrument
There can be an abundance of confusion with water activity instruments concerning test time. Some instruments claim a 5-minute test time while others offer fast or quick modes. The truth is that water activity test time is determined by the sample and not the instrument. Since water activity is an equilibrium measurement, a reading is not complete until vapor equilibrium has been achieved and this process cannot be sped up by an instrument (1). So, any claim to a specific test time is illogical and would only be true for select samples. The reality is that most types of samples require a minimum of 5 minutes or more to reach true equilibrium and test times that are faster than that are either using a prediction or the system uses end-of-test settings that are not stringent enough to achieve true vapor equilibrium.
Read more: Water Activity Test Time: It's the Sample, Not the Instrument
Scientist Live: "Water Activity Test Time"
June 20, 2022 - Scientist Live
It's the sample, not the instrument, explains Dr. Brady Carter
There can be an abundance of confusion with water activity instruments concerning test time. The truth is that the water activity test time is determined by the sample and not the instrument. Since water activity is an equilibrium measurement, a reading is not complete until vapour equilibrium has been achieved and this process cannot be sped up by an instrument. So, any claim to a specific test time is illogical and would only be true for select samples. Ultra-fast test time claims are based on either a prediction or end-of-test settings that are not stringent enough to achieve true vapour equilibrium.
Scientist Live: "Water Activity Standards: A Review"
January 4, 2023 - Scientist Review
Dr. Brady Carter discusses the two standard options for testing water activity.
Since water activity testing is critical to ensure the quality and safety of manufactured products, it is a common quality laboratory test. As with any laboratory test method, good laboratory practices require routine validation and verification assessments for water activity. This can be accomplished by running test results to the actual values. Although this can be difficult for some common quality assurance tests if they do not have independent standards, water activity standards exist in the form of electrolytic (salt) solutions.
Read more: Scientist Live: "Water Activity Standards: A Review"
Maintaining Green Coffee Quality Through Water Activity Control
The international coffee market is valued at $102 billion. It includes everything from freeze dried instant coffee to specialty blends carefully sourced from specific growing locations. Not surprisingly, the highest quality coffee comes at the highest price along with the highest quality expectations. Coffee beans are harvested as a coffee cherry that is then processed to remove the fleshy cherry covering to produce green coffee beans. These green coffee beans are the form in which the coffee is stored and transported. When it is time to produce coffee, the green beans are roasted to create the familiar roasted coffee beans that are purchased at a store or utilized at a coffee house. The roasted beans are ground and brewed to produce the familiar cup of coffee. Obviously, each of these steps provide their own challenges and each can impact the quality of the coffee produced.
Read more: Maintaining Green Coffee Quality Through Water Activity Control