Patent ID: 7220591
Filing Date: 2007-05-22
Classification: G01N,G01R,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A method of rapidly and accurately determining the fat and oil content of a food sample that also contains moisture in amounts that would otherwise preclude NMR determination of the fat and oil content, the method comprising: placing the food sample on a lipophilic and hydrophilic sample pad that is substantially transparent to microwave radiation and that is free of atoms that would interfere with or mask the NMR response of the protons in the fats and oils in the food sample; drying the sample by subjecting the food sample and food sample pad to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequencies; transferring the entire food sample with the food sample pad to an NMR analyzer that measures the relaxation times of protons in the food sample in response to pulsed radio frequencies from the NMR analyzer; measuring the NMR response of the food sample to identify the NMR response of protons associated with fats and oils; comparing the NMR response of the food sample with the known NMR responses of similar food samples of known fat and oil content to determine the fat and oil content in the food sample; and quantitatively determining the fat and oil content in the food sample prior to drying.