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Physico-chemical analysis

Physico-chemical testing of food, beverages, water and feed: composition, acidity, sugars, additives (preservatives, sweeteners) and quality indicators.

63 RENAR-accredited testsAnnex no. 1 of 24.04.2026See the table

Physico-chemical testing describes what a product is made of and shows whether it meets its specification, the relevant product standard or the legal limits for additives. It underpins quality control at raw-material intake, batch release and label preparation.

What we test

We determine the core compositional parameters: moisture and dry matter, protein (Kjeldahl or Dumas), fat, ash, sodium chloride, total and individual sugars, dietary fibre and the fatty acid profile. We measure pH and acidity in the form required by the product standard (titratable acidity, free acidity of oils, volatile acidity of wine and vinegar), as well as organic acids such as acetic, citric and lactic acid.

For additives, we test preservatives (sorbic acid E200, benzoic acid E210, sulphur dioxide, nitrites and nitrates) and intense sweeteners: acesulfame K (E950), aspartame (E951), cyclamate (E952) and saccharin (E954). All of these are additives authorised in the EU, with conditions of use and maximum levels set per food category; testing checks compliance with those levels and consistency with the label.

We complement this with freshness and authenticity indicators: peroxide value, total volatile basic nitrogen, hydroxyproline (collagen) in meat, HMF in honey, alcoholic strength of beverages, and net and drained weight.

Regulatory framework

  • Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives
  • Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on food information to consumers
  • Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 – general principles of food law
  • Directive (EU) 2020/2184 on water intended for human consumption

How we work

We receive samples together with the product details and the parameters you need, and recommend the method best suited to the matrix. Results are issued in a test report; accredited tests are marked as such in the report and are listed in the RENAR annex to accreditation certificate LI 871.

Parameters and determinations

Composition

Acidity and pH

  • pH RENAR accredited
  • Titratable acidity RENAR accredited
  • Free acidity (free fatty acids) of oils and fats authorised, not accredited
  • Volatile acidity authorised, not accredited

Organic acids

  • Citric acid authorised, not accredited
  • Lactic acid authorised, not accredited
  • L-glutamic acid authorised, not accredited

Preservatives

Sweeteners

Other indicators

"RENAR accredited" links to the matching row of the accredited-tests table below (RENAR annex no. 1/24.04.2026); "authorised, not accredited" means authorised by ANSVSA (authorisation no. 95/24.09.2025) but outside the accreditation; "subcontracted" means performed by a partner laboratory. An analysis with two labels is accredited only for the matrices and methods in the table. "Not accredited" (non-food products, which need no authorisation) means performed in the ICA laboratory or by a partner laboratory, outside the accreditation.

This list is not exhaustive and not all determinations are accredited. For anything not listed here, please contact our sales team.

Request a quote

Tell us the product and the tests you need; our sales team will reply with a quote.

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[email protected]

+40 31 410 2020

Samples received after 13:00 are registered and start testing on the next working day.

RENAR-accredited tests

Source: Annex no. 1 to RENAR accreditation certificate LI 871, issued 24/04/2026. Annex (PDF)

RENAR-accredited tests – Physico-chemical analysis. Source: Annex no. 1 to RENAR accreditation certificate LI 871, issued 24/04/2026.
TestMatrixReference documentAnnex no.
Determination of nitrite content Meat and meat products SR EN 12014-3:2005; PS-CH-29 6
Determination of nitrite content Meat and meat products; milk and dairy products, liquid and dried (milk powder), products for children; feed and feed concentrates; fruit, vegetables Metoda spectrofotometrica Enzytec Liquid Nitrate R-Biopharm (E8370); SR EN ISO 14673-2:2004; SR 13175:1993; PS-CH-29, Ediție 10.07.2025 6
Determination of sulphur dioxide in sugar White sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar SR 110-11:1998; ICUMSA Method GS2-33 (2022); PS-CH-21 7
Determination of solution colour White sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar SR 110-2:1995; ICUMSA Method GS 2 -10 (2024); ICUMSA Method GS1 -7 (2024; PS-CH-22 8
Determination of the turbidity of a sugar solution White sugar, icing sugar SR 110-2 :1995; ICUMSA Method GS 2/3-18 (2013); PS-CH-37 9
Determination of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), Winkler method Honey SR 784-3:2009, cap.4.9; SR 784-3:2009/C91:2012; PS-CH-56 10
Determination of hydroxyproline content and calculation of collagen content Meat and meat products SR ISO 3496:1997; SR ISO 3496:1997/A1:1999; PS-CH-54 11
Determination of nitrate content Drinking water, table water, mineral water, spring water, monitoring water, private well water, mains water Metoda Spectroquant Merck,cod 1.14773; PS-CH-99 Ediţia din 10.02.2023 12
Determination of nitrate content Drinking water, table water, mineral water, spring water, monitoring water, private well water, mains water; process water; waste water SR ISO 7890-3:2000; PS-CH-99, Ediţia din 10.02.2023 12
Determination of nitrate content Meat and meat products; dairy products and cheese; cooked meals; infant food; fruit and vegetables; wine, beer; fruit and vegetable juices and derivatives, carbonated and still; non-alcoholic beverages; soft drinks Metoda spectrofotometrica Enzytec Liquid Nitrate R-Biopharm (E8370); PS-CH-123, Ediția din 10.10.2024 12
Determination of nitrate content Feed and feed concentrates; fruit and vegetables; soya SR 13175:1993; PS-CH-123, Ediția din 10.10.2024 12
Determination of ammonium content Drinking water, table water, mineral, spring, monitoring, private well and mains water SR ISO 7150-1:2001; PS-CH-72 13
Determination of free residual chlorine Drinking water, table water, private well water, mains water Spectroquant Chlorine Test - 100599.001; PS-CH-111 Ediţia din 10.01.2024 14
Determination of nitrite content Drinking, table, spring, mineral, private well, mains, process, monitoring and waste water SR EN 26777:2002; SR EN 26777:2002/C91:2006; PS-CH-113 Ediție din 10.02.2023 15
Determination of fatty acid content by gas chromatography Food products SR EN ISO 12966-2:2017; SR EN ISO 661:2006; SR EN ISO 661:2006/AC:2007; SR EN ISO 12966-4:2015; SR ISO 15885:2008; ISO 14156:2025; PS-CH-30 Ediţia din 10.01.2026 16
Determination of caffeine content by HPLC Coffee and coffee products; non-alcoholic beverages SR ISO 20481:2009; PS-CH-31 18
Determination of sorbic acid and benzoic acid by HPLC Fruit and vegetable products; non-alcoholic beverages; margarines; dairy products SR ISO 22855:2008; SR ISO 9231:2009; Journal of chromatography A, 1073 (2005), 393-397 -Simultaneous determination of preservatives (benzoic acides, sorbic acides, methylparaben and propulbaraben) in foodstuffs using high performance liquid cromatography. (Bahruddin S., Md. Fazlul B., Muhammad I.S., Kamarudzaman A., Mohd. Khairuddin T.) Food Chemistry, 127 (2011) 1294- 1299 - Development of an RP- HPLC method for the simultaneous; determination of benzoic acid, sorbic acid, netamycin and lysizyme in hard and pasta filata cheeses (C. Guarino, F. Fuselli, A. LaMantia, L.Longo); PS-CH-60 Ediţia din 10.01.2022 19
Determination of acesulfame K, aspartame and saccharin by HPLC-DAD Foods of non-animal origin SR EN 12856:2001; PS-CH-105 Ediția din 10.01.2022 21
Determination of cyclamate by HPLC-DAD Foods of non-animal origin SR EN 12857:2001; PS-CH-109 Ediția din 10.01.2022 22
Determination of sugars by LC-IR (xylose, fructose, glucose, galactose, sucrose, turanose, maltose, trehalose, lactose, melezitose, maltotriose, raffinose) Food products and food supplements; wine, must and wine-based products PS-CH-128, Ediţia din 10.05.2025 23
Determination of conductivity ash in sugar White sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar SR 110-2:1995; ICUMSA Method GS2/3/9-17 (2011); ICUMSA Method GS1/3/4/7/8-13 (1994); PS-CH-26 28
Determination of pH White, brown and raw sugar; confectionery; meat and meat products; fruit and vegetable products; water SR 110-12:1998; SR 2213-9:2009; SR ISO 2917:2007; SR ISO 1842:2008; SR EN ISO 10523:2012; PS-CH-27 29
Determination of pH Foodstuffs; non-alcoholic and soft drinks; fruit and vegetable juices and derivatives, carbonated and still PS-CH-27, Ediție 10.07.2025 29
Determination of pH Milk and dairy products, including cheese and butter SR ISO 7238:2009; PS-CH-27, Ediție 10.07.2025 29
Determination of pH Catering products: cooked meals, sandwiches and food mixes PS-CH-27, Ediție 10.07.2025 29
Determination of pH Coffee, tea, spices, soya, starch PS-CH-27, Ediție 10.07.2025 29
Determination of pH Salt / sodium chloride SR 8934-2:1996; PS-CH-27, Ediție 10.07.2025 29
Determination of pH Alcoholic beverages: wine, beer and food-grade alcohol SR 6182-14:2009; PS-CH-27, Ediție 10.07.2025 29
Determination of pH Animal feed PS-CH-27, Ediție 10.07.2025 29
Determination of electrical conductivity Drinking water, table water, private well water, mains water, mineral water, spring water SR EN 27888:1997; PS-CH-114 30
Determination of turbidity Drinking water, table water, private well water, mains water SR EN ISO 7027-1:2016; PS-CH-112 31
Determination of total nitrogen and calculation of protein content Meat, fish, milk and their products; cereals and pulses; milling and bakery products; biscuits; pasta; juices; confectionery; food concentrates; feed SR ISO 937:2023; SR EN ISO 8968-1:2014; SR EN ISO 20483:2014; SR 13013-3:1994; SR 2213-17:2009; SR 8613-6:2009; SR EN ISO 5983-1:2006; SR EN ISO 5983-1:2006/ AC:2009; PS-CH-38 Ediţia din 10.07.2025 32
Determination of protein content by the Dumas method Food products; feed PS-CH-126, Ediţia din 10.02.2023 33
Determination of fat content – butyrometric method Cheese; milk and fermented milk products SR ISO 3433:2009; STAS 6352/1-88; SR ISO 19662:2023; PS-CH-43 Ediție din 10.01.2024 34
Determination of sugar content Confectionery; biscuits; wine; ethyl alcohol and alcoholic beverages; bread and fresh pastry; milk and dairy products SR 2213-12:2009, cap. 6, 7; STAS 1227/3-90, cap.11; STAS 6182/17-81; SR 6182-18:2009; SR 6182-18:2009/C91:2009; SR 184-4:2009; SR 91:2007, cap. 13.2; PS-CH-23 Ediţia din 10.01.2022 35
Determination of chloride content Water; bread and fresh pastry; milk and milk products; food concentrates; meat and meat products; fish and fish products; vegetable products SR ISO 9297:2001; SR 91:2007, cap. 15; SR 8613-3:2009; SR ISO 1841-1:2000; SR ISO 3634:2009; PS-CH-36 Ediţia din 10.02.2023 36
Determination of easily hydrolysable nitrogen and total volatile basic nitrogen Meat and meat preparations; fish and fish preparations SR 9065-7:2007; SR 9065-7:2007/C91:2009; Regulamentul (CE) Nr. 2074/2005; PS-CH-45 37
Determination of acidity Wheat flour; pasta; bread and fresh pastry; fruit and vegetable products; food concentrates; confectionery; milk and dairy products; wine; ethyl alcohol and alcoholic beverages; soft drinks SR 90:2007, cap.12.3; STAS 756/3-85, cap. 8; SR 91:2007, cap.11; SR ISO 750:2008; SR 8613-4:2009; SR 2213-22:2009; SR 2213-22:2009/C91:2012; SR 143:2008, Anexa B; SR ISO 6092:2008; SR 6182-1:2008; SR 184-5:1997; SR 184-5:1997/C91:2012; SR 2567-1:1996; PS-CH-13 Ediţia din 10.01.2022 38
Determination of reducing substances in sugar White sugar; raw sugar Metoda ICUMSA GS2/9-6 (2011); Metoda ICUMSA GS1-5 (2009); PS-CH-57 39
Determination of peroxide value Food products; animal and vegetable fats and oils SR 13531:2008; PS-CH-100 Ediţia din 10.01.2022 40
Determination of the sum of calcium and magnesium – EDTA titrimetric method Groundwater and surface water; drinking, table, mineral, spring, monitoring, private well and mains water SR ISO 6059:2008; PS-CH-52 41
Determination of permanganate index Drinking water, table water, private well water, mains water SR EN ISO 8467:2001; PS-CH-115 42
Determination of water-insoluble matter White sugar, icing sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar SR 110-8:1995; ICUMSA Method GS2/3/9-19 (2007); PS-CH-24 43
Determination of total ash and ash insoluble in hydrochloric acid Fruit and vegetable products; juices; food concentrates; bread and pastry; wheat flour; spices; meat; fish; confectionery; cereals, pulses and derived products; tea; pasta SR ISO 763:2008; SR 91:2007, cap.16; SR 90:2007, cap. 21; SR ISO 928:2009; ISO 930:1997; SR ISO 936:2009; SR 2213-6:2009; SR EN ISO 2171:2023; SR ISO 1577:1999; SR ISO 1575:1999; SR ISO 7514:1999; STAS 756/3-85, cap.10; PS-CH-28 Ediţia din 10.07.2025 44
Determination of moisture and dry matter Milk and dairy products; cheese; ice cream; butter; coffee; seeds; flour and cereals; bread and pastry; confectionery; sugar; meat; fish; food concentrates; pasta; biscuits ISO 6731:2023; SR EN ISO 5534:2004; SR ISO 3728:2009; SR EN ISO 3727-1:2002; SR ISO 6673:2009; SR 6124-1:1999; SR 90:2007, cap 11; SR 91:2007, cap.10; SR EN ISO 712-1:2024; SR 2213-4:2007; SR 110-3:1995; ICUMSA Method GS 2/1/3/9-15 (2007); SR ISO 1442:2023; SR 8613-1:2009; SR ISO 11294:1998; SR ISO 11294:1998/C91:2009; STAS 756/3-85, cap. 7; STAS 1227/3-90, cap. 8; PS-CH-44 Ediţia din 15.05.2025 45
Determination of moisture and ash (thermogravimetry) Food products except oil and sugar; feed PS-CH-125, Ediţia din 10.11.2023 46
Determination of fat content – gravimetric method Milk powder; ice cream; cream; butter and spreadable fats; meat; fish; food concentrates; confectionery; oilseeds; bread and pastry; biscuits SR EN ISO 1736:2009; SR EN ISO 7328:2009; SR EN ISO 2450:2009; SR EN ISO 17189:2005; SR ISO 1444:2008; SR 8613-5:2009; SR 2213-11:2007; SR EN ISO 659:2009; SR 91:2007, cap.14.4; STAS 1227/3-90, cap.12; PS-CH-34 Ediţia din 10.01.2022 47
Determination of lipid content by microwave-assisted extraction Food products; feed PS-CH-127, Ediţia din 10.02.2023 48
Determination of alcoholic strength – pycnometric method Ethyl alcohol; alcoholic beverages; wine; beer SR 184-2:2010; SR 13355-3:2005, cap. 4; STAS 6182/6-70; PS-CH-47 49
Determination of total dry extract Ethyl alcohol; alcoholic beverages; wine; vinegar SR 184-3:2009; SR 184-3:2009/C91:2012; STAS 6182/9-80; SR 157:2008, cap. 3.2; PS-CH-42 50
Determination of phosphorus content (expressed as P2O5) Meat and meat products SR ISO 936:2009; PS-CH-59 Ediție din 10.02.2023 51
Determination of total, insoluble and soluble dietary fibre Food products; cereals Metoda AOAC 991.42; Metoda AOAC 985.29; PS-CH-58 52
Mass determinations (net weight, drained weight, mass proportions of components, mass grading) Food products and feed SR 2213-3:2009; STAS 6516-90; STAS 5951-83; Metoda AOAC 968.30; PS-CH-11 Ediţia din 10.01.2022 53
Determination of alcoholic strength by densimetry using a hydrostatic balance Ethyl alcohol; alcoholic beverages; wine; beer SR 184-2:2010, pct. 5; Regulamentul (CE) nr. 2870/2000 de stabilire a metodelor comunitare de referință pentru analiza băuturilor spirtoase – Metoda C; Method OIV-MA-AS312-01A – Alcoholic strength by volume – punctul 4.C.; PS-CH-47 Ediția din 10.01.2022, pct. 6.6 54
Determination of polarisation and sucrose White sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar SR 110-4:1995; ICUMSA Method GS2-1 (2022; ICUMSA Method GS1-1 (2022); PS-CH-25 55
Determination of soluble solids (refractometric) Fruit and vegetable products; confectionery; fruit and vegetable juices; soft drinks SR ISO 2173:2008; SR 2213-5:2009; PS-CH-120 Ediţia din 10.07.2025 56
Determination of fat oxidation stage – Kreis reaction Meat and meat preparations SR 9065-10:2007; PS-CH-20 57
Identification reaction for hydrogen sulphide Meat and meat preparations SR 9065-11:2007; PS-CH-39 58
Determination of total sulphur dioxide Wine; beer; alcoholic beverages; soft drinks; fruit and vegetable products; natural juices; hops; spices and coffee; process water Metoda Colorimetrica. Enzytec SO2-total R-Biopharm (E8600); PS-CH-118 Ediția din 15.11.2024 59
Determination of cholesterol content Pasta; liver-based products; eggs and egg liqueur; dressings; animal fats Metoda spectrofotometrica Enzytec Liquid Cholesterol R-Biopharm (E8320); PS-CH-119 Ediţia din 10.10.2024 60
Determination of volume in the package Liquid food products PS-CH-10, Ediţia din 10.02.2023 61
Determination of density Food products PS-CH-07, Ediţia din 10.02.2023 62
Calculated determinations (collagen/protein, water/protein and fat/protein ratios, apparent meat content, added water, values on a dry-matter basis, etc.) Meat and meat products; fish; milk and dairy products; cereal and bakery products; confectionery; food concentrates; beverages; other food products PS-CH-63, Ediţia din 10.01.2024 85

Accreditation covers only the test – matrix – method combinations in the table. The accreditation status of each result is stated on the test report.

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