Cooking instructions laboratory maintains UKAS accreditation
Leatherhead Food Research’s cooking instructions laboratory has successfully completed its annual audit against ISO/IEC 17025:2017 (general requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories). The audit was performed by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).
In 2016, Leatherhead’s laboratory was the first in the UK to be accredited for cooking instructions testing using specified equipment. Accreditation has been maintained every year since, and the scope has been extended.
Today, Leatherhead’s UKAS accredited testing laboratory (no. 9365) status covers: cooking instructions testing (microwave oven, gas and electric thermal oven, electric fan oven, gas and electric hob, gas and electric grill, deep fat fryer, air fryer, defrost) and in cook temperature measuring techniques.
Air fryers were added to the UKAS scope of accreditation in 2022, and in 2024 overtook microwave ovens to become Leatherhead’s second most requested cooking technique.
“Consumer cooking trends evolve over time, but the importance of scientifically validated cooking instructions is constant,” says Natasha Burton, Head of Cooking Instructions at Leatherhead Food Research. “Whether an item is cooked in a thermal oven, an air fryer, or a microwave, it’s important that the end product is safe and ready-to-eat. The same is true of products cooked on the hob or in the grill.”
While ensuring safety is the main goal of cooking instructions, sensory characteristics are a high priority too. Leatherhead’s cooking instructions team focuses on the taste, appearance, and texture of food, using different time-and-temperature combinations to achieve high-quality results.
“We handle around 15,000 cooking trials per year, so we have lots of experience optimising cooking instructions to consistently deliver excellent outcomes,” explains Burton. “Our food scientists understand ingredient behaviour and equipment variability as well as food safety principles. They apply this expert knowledge to every project we undertake so clients can be confident that our cooking instructions recommendations are robust and reliable.”
Find out more about our cooking instructions generation and validation services; or reach out to our team below:
T: +44 1372 822 278/ 303/ 314
