Can anyone recommend a good food grade digital pH meter?

[wade]

The question really is in the title. I have been looking into getting a digital pH meter for checking canned products and also salami and chorizo. There are a few of them out there ranging from $25 up to $1,000+. Does anyone on here use one for food and if so can you recommend it?

Thanks

Wade

 

[daveomak]

Wade, morning.... Been 20 years since I used a pH meter.... Check with you Food Inspectors for regs regarding pH meters..... I don't know if you are familiar with them but they can be a PITA to use... Might be, depending of the types of food you are testing, pH strips may be better under certain conditions... and cheaper in the long run... range specific.... use and toss.... no calibrating... no log books....
There's 2 cents for you......

Dave

 

[jeepdiver]

Check some of the homebrew sites (austin homebrew, midwest. 2 off the top of my head).

The usually have mid priced ones that are food safe

 

[wade]

Wade, morning.... Been 20 years since I used a pH meter.... Check with you Food Inspectors for regs regarding pH meters..... I don't know if you are familiar with them but they can be a PITA to use... Might be, depending of the types of food you are testing, pH strips may be better under certain conditions... and cheaper in the long run... range specific.... use and toss.... no calibrating... no log books....
There's 2 cents for you......

Dave

Thanks Dave - I think you are right when it comes to cost and lack of calibration 

Unfortunately I am looking for one that is quite precise and can be used as part of my standard HACCP procedures. The papers are great but our environmental health prefer to see digital "accuracy". One I have seen that looks reasonable is the Hanna HI 99163 but this is coming in at about £360 (~$600).

 

[wade]

Check some of the homebrew sites (austin homebrew, midwest. 2 off the top of my head).

The usually have mid priced ones that are food safe

Thanks Jeep. I have just taken a look and they do have some options - also from Hanna. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[jeepdiver]

Didnt realize you were in the UK. You should be able to find some UK sites as well. I know there are a few UK based homebrew fourms, if you search you should be able to find them on google. Then the people on there can probably find you a better option on that side of the pond.

 

[wade]

The common factor both sides of the pond appear to be Hanna - an Indian company. The Austin home brew site pointed me in a direction of one of their less expensive meters which is readily available over here too. 

 

[bluewhisper]

+1 on the PITA, our water group got one and they're fussy. The probe can't be allowed to dry out; it has to be stored in a buffer solution. When the probe fails, everything reads as 7.0

 

[daveomak]

Wade....... Check with your regulatory agency to find out if they have "parameters" for the meter that must be met..... Probes measure hydrogen ion activity.... those that are stored in a buffer solution, tend to get saturated with H ions and are slow to respond... at least 20 years ago they were that way....
I never found 2 different pH meters that would read the same.... The EPA brought in their meters and disagreed with ours.... they wanted to cite us for "poor" equipment or some darn thing.... I always asked them to prove their equipment was correct and bring on the NIST standards to check both instruments..... You'd be surprised how those "educated" law enforcers started to stammer....

PS.... I suggest if you are to be monitored, you use the exact equipment the regulators use......

 

[bluewhisper]

We didn't have to comply with anything, it was just my own idea to get some numbers. We got a lot more useable data from the conductivity meters - seeing reading spikes from road salt, etc.