Analytical instrument supplier sponsors near infrared conference

Foss, which supplies analytical solutions for quality control and processing throughout the supply chain for agricultural products, is a sponsor for the 16th International Conference on Near Infrared Spectroscopy, held June 2-7, 2013 in La Grande-Motte, France.
Experts in all aspects of near infrared spectroscopy will gather to explore how the technology can be used for a range of applications in food, agriculture and other industries. Foss will have a stand in the Salle Exposition and will participate with a calibration training event, posters and presentations and a social event with near infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics expert, Harald Martens.
Pre-conference calibration course
On June 2, a course on calibration is available. Chemometrics expert, Dr. L. Nørgaard and M. Westerhaus from Foss will train those attending the course: "WinISI advanced training – a case-based and hands-on workshop on calibration and discrimination."
Presentations on variable selection and Gaussian Process Regression
Foss will host several presentations, including:

• "An improved variable selection method for classification of collinear data: Recursive Extended Canonical Variates Analysis," with Søren B. Engelsen, Martin Andersson, Lars Nørgaard, Copenhagen University, Denmark
• "Gaussian Process Regression in NIR spectroscopy – a comparative chemometric study with PLS and ANN," with Wangdong Ni, Rasmus Bro, Lars Nørgaard, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
• Foss will also present a poster: "A Procedure to Determine when NIR is Better than its Reference Method," Martin Andersson, Lars Nørgaard
Social event
Foss will host a social event on June 3, which will include guest speaker Harald Martens, a near infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics expert. 

Feed producers may benefit from phytate analysis service

Animal and feed producers can now make more precise predictions of phytate levels in feed, thanks to AB Vista’s phytate analysis service.
In partnership with Aunir, a developer and supplier of software for near infrared reflectance spectroscopy, this service enables AB Vista’s customers to have the phytate content of feed samples analyzed. Aunir has also recently updated the equations that underpin this analysis with data from 3,000 samples.
NIR spectroscopy uses light waves to analyze nutritional, chemical and physical properties at a molecular level, including the presence of phytate. Found in many plant-based feedstuffs, the anti-nutritional effects of phytate cost animal producers up to $2 billion every year in lost performance. When excreted, it can also harm the environment, but it can be eliminated from the diet by applying the enzyme phytase to feed.
According to AB Vista research director, Mike Bedford: “To keep NIR analysis as precise as possible, Aunir needs to continually update its calibrations: the baseline standards against which samples are predicted. Now, with an even more accurate picture of phytate content and overall nutritional make-up, AB Vista’s customers will be in a stronger position to maximise the potential of their feed and the use of phytase to reduce costs.”

FOSS to hold feed analysis technical seminar at VIV Asia 2013

FOSS is exhibiting at VIV Asia 2013 (Hall 103, Booth F075) and will present a free technical seminar on how feed producers can make the best of raw materials through advanced feed analysis. The topics and presenters are:

• "Precise nutrition evaluation - Latest research" by Cecile Gady, research manager NIRS & feedstuff, Adisseo
• "Optimizing profits through NIR - Working relationship between Nutreco and FOSS in Asia" by Nabil Chinniah, vice president Asia Pacific, Trouw Nutrition Indonesia, a Nutreco company
• "Examples from instant quality optimization of feed, meat and dairy production" by Martin Andersson, Ph.D. and Kowalski Award in NIR & Chemometrics, FOSS Japan
The seminar will be held March 14, 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
FOSS will also be part of VIV Aisa's official conference program. International Market Manager, Feed & Forage, Laura Locatelli will present the many options now available through near infrared (NIR) analytical technology to optimize feed production process and quality control. Locatelli will give the presentation at the CropTech-FeedTech Conference on March 13, at 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
In addition to its presentations, FOSS will be exhibiting a range of advanced in-line and bench top NIR analytical solutions for the feed and meat industries together with solutions for chemical analysis. Among the products on show is ProFoss feed analyzer for continuous inline analysis directly in the feed production process. For benchtop analysis in the laboratory or in the production, the NIRS DS2500 offers NIR accuracy for a broad range of applications, from checking protein content to determining the amount of digestible amino acids for an improved feed conversion ratio. The NIRS DA1650 analyzer for use in the laboratory or in the production environment will also be on show.