T-09
Non-food commodity testing
Paper, tissue and foil measured against the specification your retail buyer holds you to.
- What it is
- Grammage, dimensions, absorbency, appearance, microbiology
- Who it is for
- Tissue and foil converters, importers, retail suppliers
- Turnaround
- 5–7 days
WHAT THIS IS
What this is, and why it matters
Non-food commodity testing covers the paper, tissue and aluminium foil lines that move through the same retail supply chains as food, and it measures what a purchase specification actually specifies: grammage in grams per square metre, sheet and roll dimensions, net weight against the declared count, water absorption, pH and moisture content. Alongside those sit the attributes judged rather than instrumented — appearance, colour, texture and odour — which are assessed against an agreed reference sample so that a verdict means the same thing twice.
These products are rejected on the loading bay far more often than they are rejected on safety, and almost always on the same three things: a roll that is short of its declared count, a grammage under the specification, or a visible defect nobody agreed a limit for. Because tissue and foil sit directly against food and skin, microbiological checks run alongside the physical ones — aerobic plate count, yeasts and moulds, and pathogen screening on the same benches that run the food work.
What this lane covers
- Grammage, dimensions, net weight, absorbency, pH, moisture
- Appearance, colour, texture, odour, microbiological checks
TRIGGERS
When you need it
A retail buyer has issued a specification
Supermarket and hypermarket own-brand programmes specify grammage, dimensions and count tolerances, and they check them on delivery. Testing before dispatch is cheaper than testing after a rejection.
You are importing and need to verify what arrived
A container of tissue or foil is easy to specify and hard to verify by eye. Grammage and net weight are the two determinations that most often disagree with the paperwork.
A complaint or a rejected delivery needs settling
Where a buyer and a supplier disagree about whether goods met specification, an independent measurement against the named attribute is what closes it. The report states the method and the reference sample used.
CATALOGUE
Non-food commodities — parameters
Grammage
- Matrix
- Paper, tissue, foil
- Reference method
- ISO method, confirmed per request
- Run by
- Nexus bench
- Turnaround
- 5–7 days
Net weight
- Matrix
- Paper, tissue, foil
- Reference method
- ISO method, confirmed per request
- Run by
- Nexus bench
- Turnaround
- 5–7 days
Dimensions
- Matrix
- Paper, tissue, foil
- Reference method
- ISO method, confirmed per request
- Run by
- Nexus bench
- Turnaround
- 5–7 days
Moisture and water content
- Matrix
- Paper, tissue, foil
- Reference method
- ISO method, confirmed per request
- Run by
- Nexus bench
- Turnaround
- 5–7 days
Water absorption
- Matrix
- Paper, tissue
- Reference method
- ISO method, confirmed per request
- Run by
- Nexus bench
- Turnaround
- 5–7 days
pH
- Matrix
- Paper, tissue, foil
- Reference method
- ISO method, confirmed per request
- Run by
- Nexus bench
- Turnaround
- 5–7 days
Visual appearance
- Matrix
- Paper, tissue, foil
- Reference method
- ISO method, confirmed per request
- Run by
- Nexus bench
- Turnaround
- 5–7 days
Visual colour
- Matrix
- Paper, tissue, foil
- Reference method
- ISO method, confirmed per request
- Run by
- Nexus bench
- Turnaround
- 5–7 days
Visual texture
- Matrix
- Paper, tissue, foil
- Reference method
- ISO method, confirmed per request
- Run by
- Nexus bench
- Turnaround
- 5–7 days
Odour
- Matrix
- Paper, tissue, foil
- Reference method
- ISO method, confirmed per request
- Run by
- Nexus bench
- Turnaround
- 5–7 days
Microbiological analysis (aerobic plate count, yeasts and moulds)
- Matrix
- Paper, tissue, foil
- Reference method
- ISO 4833-1 + ISO 21527-2
- Run by
- Nexus bench
- Turnaround
- 5–7 days
Pathogens (Salmonella, Staphylococcus)
- Matrix
- Paper, tissue, foil
- Reference method
- ISO 6579-1 + ISO 6888-1
- Run by
- Nexus bench
- Turnaround
- 5–7 days
Published from the laboratory’s own method list. Reference methods shown are the primary reference for each determination; the full reference set, sample requirement and confirmed turnaround are issued in writing before any sample is accepted.
PROCESS
How it works
Send the brief before the sample
The specification the goods are being sold against, the declared count or grammage, and the reference sample if appearance, colour or texture is in scope. Judged attributes need a reference to be judged against, or the verdict is one person’s opinion.
Sample requirements confirmed in writing
Sample requirement is set by the determination: grammage needs enough area to cut the test pieces, net weight needs whole retail units in their own packaging, and microbiological work needs units that have not been opened. Confirmed in writing before dispatch.
On the bench, to a published method
Every determination runs to the ISO, AOAC or APHA method named in the catalogue above, and that reference travels onto the report line rather than sitting in a footnote. Turnaround runs from acceptance at the laboratory, not from the day the sample left you.
Reported so the result can be acted on
Each attribute is reported against the specification limit it was tested to, with the measured value beside it, so a pass or a fail is readable without cross-referencing the specification separately.
What you get back
A report line per specified attribute, each with its measured value, the specification limit it was assessed against and the method used — physical and microbiological results together on one document rather than arriving as two separate reports.
Service facts
| Parameter | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Accreditation position | Not on the accredited scope. Paper, tissue and foil testing runs in house; the accredited testing certificate covers food and agricultural microbiology and does not extend to these commodities. | Stated per discipline, never implied by a badge. |
| Sample requirements | Confirmed to you in writing before dispatch. Container, quantity, temperature and hold time change with the parameter and the matrix, so they are issued per request rather than published as one list. | Per-parameter detail publishes with the confirmed method list. |
Q+A
Common questions
Non-food commodities
Can I submit a sample now?
Send the request first: matrix, parameters, sample count. The lab states the sample requirements before anything ships.
Is testing SAAC-accredited?
Calibration carries the accreditation of the lab. The testing-side position is stated per service from the certificate and scope, never implied by a badge.
What does the report include?
Sample identity, method reference, result with unit, and the limit where one applies.
Send the sample question or the instrument list. It is read by a bench professional, not routed through a ticket queue. Call +966 59 637 8052 or write to lab-mgr@qsinexus.com.
CONTINUE
Where to next
Sending a sample
Packing, labelling, temperature and what has to travel with the sample so it arrives usable.
ReadAccreditation and scope
What is on the accredited scope annex and what is not — stated plainly, because a badge does not tell you.
ReadForms and documents
Submission form, chain of custody and the calibration request, ready to fill in first.
Read