Like many of our educational test strips, the Vitamin C test strip was developed for a specific purpose using water samples. However, over time, students, teacher, and organizations alike have found other uses for the strips that seem to work. We received an interesting question from a customer who wanted to test for Vitamin C content in applesauce. Our response gives you an idea of how to proceed for any experimental use of a test strip.
I am looking for a way to start testing Vitamin C/Ascorbic Acid content in our applesauce. Can your Vitamin C test strips be used in a sauce and not just a liquid? Are there any other recommendations that you have for this type of test? – Ashlee
As you suspect, testing in foods can be tricky. Our Vitamin C test strips were originally designed to test water samples. Having said that, it may be possible to test applesauce using the test strips. The key will be to develop a validated sampling and testing protocol.
Our suggestion would be try some standard addition experiments using a fixed amount of applesauce and adding a known amount of ascorbic acid concentrate at various levels to see what kind of response and recovery can be measured. Maybe running the experiment first using water would be a good idea to get a handle on the concept
If the strips do not work or are not accurate enough for your application, you may want to consider an ORP probe for detecting Vitamin C. This is a more expensive way to go, and it would still require that method validation, but it would most likely provide you with what you need. These probes are available from many of the scientific distributors, such as, ThermoFisher, Oakton, VWR, etc.
Leave A Comment