Staff at the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research (CDR) recently validated X- ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry as a new method for analyzing sodium in cheese, providing manufacturers with the first quick and accurate method for directly measuring sodium in the presence of salt replacers.
The XRF technology, which is commonplace in the mining industry, had not previously been considered as a means for measuring sodium in cheese, but thanks to funding from the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, CDR staff were able to successfully develop and validate a method for both natural and processed cheeses. This work was recently published in the Journal of Dairy Science August edition, Volume 98, Issue 8, Pages 5040–5051, titled, “Evaluation of X- ray fluorescence spectroscopy as a method for the rapid and direct determination of sodium in cheese”.