Real-time, online monitoring system advances quality control measures

Romsey, UK — Stratophase, a specialist in real-time chemical and biochemical measurement, is providing a vital insight into the fermentation of alcoholic beverages with its SpectroSens technology. This technology uses refractive index and temperature measurements to provide real-time, online monitoring of this complex and time dependent process, and is currently performing very well in external trials to assist with quality control.

The production of alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine and spirits, relies on fermentation. This process however, is impacted by the seasonal variability in crops, which makes the critically important step of maintaining quality very difficult. The high sampling rate of the SpectroSens allows for additional kinematic data to be captured in addition to the overall refractive index and temperature profiles, thereby enabling key points within the fermentation process to be easily identified. In practical terms, this means that any deviation in the fermentation process is almost instantly noticeable, enabling any problems to be corrected or the production process stopped. This has the potential to save valuable time, money and resources when compared with identifying a problem during post-production quality control.

For further information on Stratophase, please visit www.stratophase.com.

About Stratophase:

Stratophase is a VC-funded spin-out from the University of Southampton in the UK. Its unique SpectroSens technology is an optical microchip sensor which measures chemical processes and detects biological targets. This core optical measurement technology can be realised in a vast array of sensing heads, offering a wide variety of system configurations applicable to a broad spectrum of industries including chemical and biochemical production as well as biological detection.

The Stratophase team, guided by CEO Dr Richard Williams, includes the original inventors of the SpectroSens technology as well as senior managers with a vast array of industry experience.