Top five frequently occurring issues causing EnviroLogix customers to lose time
- Timing Errors: Make absolutely sure to use a timer. In busy testing environments, it’s easy to walk away and lose track of how long a test has been running.
- Sample Size Too Small: In sampling, size matters, and bigger is always better. For example, by going from a 200g sample to a 1000g sample for non-GMO soybeans, the confidence level goes from 80 to 95% based on sampling studies we conducted with one of our customers.
- Insufficient Probing Method: Whether you do it by hand or with a pneumatic probe, you want to hit at least six locations in a truck and make sure the probe is the appropriate length to get to the bottom of the container. Insert it at an angle with the slot closed. With the slots up, open the probe and move it up and down twice. Close the probe and continue. You want to avoid spout lines, because fines and contamination are highest in those locations.
- Inaccurate Measuring: Our tests are sensitive to the amount of water you add compared to the volume of grain. Make sure your scale is calibrated and that you account for the weight of whatever container you are using to measure your grain. As for water, use a graduated cylinder for best results and know that the meniscus (lowest level of the water as it reaches up the sides of the cylinder) is at the volume required for your measurement.
- Deficient Shaking: Once you’ve added water to the material you’ll be testing, you need to combine them into solution. EnviroLogix has worked extensively to bring you the shortest and easiest protocols on the market, but that doesn’t matter if what you are trying to detect is bound up in the material. When you do shake your sample with water, try to emulate a paint shaker at a hardware store in terms of how hard to shake it. With the mycotoxins, set a timer for 2 minutes. You will feel it in your arm when you are done; which is why many of our customers opt for a mechanical shaker.
A Digital Timer Won't Eliminate All Your Errors
While a digital timer helps with one of the most common mistakes made by our customers in the testing environment, it won't solve all of your issues. We do hope that by offering a FREE digital timer and a PDF version of our Common Failure Points poster, we can help you raise awareness with your team about the importance of adhering to your QA/QC plan.
If you would like to consult with an EnviroLogix expert to learn more about how we can help you get the results you're trying to achieve, you can complete the form at right, write us at info@envirologix.com or call us (toll-free) at (866) 408 4597. We look forward to helping you out.