Portable Photometer for Determination of Peroxide Value in Oils

This Hanna Instruments photometer measures peroxide value in edible oils and fats.

Why it is measured

Peroxide value is the standard measure of how far an oil has oxidised — how rancid it is becoming — and it rises long before anyone can taste it. The classical method is a titration with solvents and a fume hood; a photometer gives the same decision in minutes on a bench.

Where it is used

• edible oil production
• frying oil management
• food quality control
• incoming raw material checks

How a photometer differs from a strip

A photometer runs the same colour chemistry a test strip does, but reads the colour with a light source and a detector instead of an eye. That turns a range into a number, and a number into something that can be recorded, trended and defended.

It costs more, needs reagents and needs clean cuvettes. It earns that back wherever the result has to satisfy somebody other than the person who took it.

Practical note

Oxidation continues in the sample bottle; test soon after sampling and keep samples full, capped and out of the light.

Supplied as one model.