Novel concept of measurement uncertainty in food analysis

Abstract

Test laboratories applying the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 must estimate measurement uncertainty for quantitative measurements. Food analysis involves physical measurements and chemical analysis and a variety of principles and techniques are applied. The cause and magnitude of the uncertainty in both types of measurements can vary from measurement to measurement. In this review, measurement uncertainty is reinterpreted. The differences between measurement models and measurement functions, the relationship between fishbone and measurement models, and the application of bottom-up and top-down methods are compared, as well. In addition, the estimation of measurement uncertainty suitable for each analysis method in the physical and chemical analysis of food was compared and discussed. When the analytical process is complex, such as chemical analysis of food, it is considered a reasonable approach to adopt a top-down method to estimate measurement uncertainty by considering the overall uncertainty rather than decomposing the measurement result into its individual components.