Report of Collaborative Study on Starch in Raw Sugar Using the SPRI Rapid Starch Method

摘要

Starch is an important process parameter for raw sugar manufacture. Several methods for starch analysis exist, but there is not a standardized method that can be conveniently used in cane mills, and such a method is desirable. Sugar Processing Research Institute, Inc., (SPRI) recently developed a rapid test that meets the conditions for use in a mill — it is rapid, easy, inexpensive, and uses existing equipment The method correlated well with the standard method. In August 2003, the U.S. National Committee on Sugar Analysis recommended that a collaborative study on raw sugar be conducted within the United States using the SPRI rapid starch test Fourteen laboratories participated, representing refineries, raw sugar mills and laboratories throughoutthe United States Six raw sugars, with starch concentrations in the range of 100 to 800 ppm were analyzed as blind duplicates. The results indicated that the variability of the method fell within the parameters of an acceptable collaborative study. Since thirteen of the fourteen participating labs were unfamiliar with the method, the repro-ducibility of the method is expected to improve with increased familiarity. The method received Tentative ICUMSA status in April 2004.