Note: Fees (prices) on this site are in GBP and do not include carriage / handling fees and VAT. Customers outside the UK may also incur local charges, including (but not limited to) import duties, local taxes and customs clearance fees, which may add significant cost to your order. Prices here are for the PT round or QC / Reference Material only and the total price payable may be higher.
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Natural vanilla is one of the most expensive spices to produce, having a very labour-intensive production, requiring hand pollination of the flowers to produce the seeds, and daily harvesting by hand; followed by slow drying, and conditioning for a further 5-6 months. Natural vanilla and its extract are much more expensive than artificial forms of vanilla flavouring which are very cheap to produce. Shortages in production and increased demand, push prices even higher.
As a result, adulteration of natural vanilla with cheaper flavourings can occur and it is important that any testing of vanilla extract can distinguish between natural vanilla bean extract and cheaper extracts and synthesized vanilla flavours.
The PT combines a mixture of positive identification (4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, which is not found in artificial vanilla flavourings, and vanillin) and detection of adulterants (coumarin from Tonka bean extract, and ethyl vanillin, a synthesized flavouring much stronger than natural vanilla).
Fapas proficiency tests can challenge your testing laboratories to ensure only high-quality testing standards are achieved. This can therefore ensure your customers, and regulators, receive highly accurate test results without significant bias.
