Top 5 Benefits of Liquid Handling Automation for Routine Food Testing

Importance of the topic

Automating liquid handling in routine food and beverage testing addresses key challenges in modern analytical laboratories. By standardizing pipetting tasks, automation increases consistency, minimizes human error, and enhances traceability of critical assays used for nutritional, safety, and quality control analyses.

Objectives and overview

This application note highlights the top five benefits of implementing the Andrew+ pipetting robot for food testing workflows. It demonstrates how automation improves efficiency, reliability, and data management across common assays such as amino acid profiling, pesticide screening, sugar and sugar substitute measurement, and vitamin quantification.

Methodology

The approach involves integrating Andrew+ with conventional pipettes and labware under control of OneLab software. Protocols are designed via a graphical drag-and-drop interface, then executed step by step to ensure consistency. Automated volume and concentration calculations account for sample viscosity and dilution factors, reducing manual preparation time.

Used Instrumentation

• Andrew+™ pipetting robot
• OneLab™ cloud-native software
• Standard single- and multichannel pipettes
• Common laboratory plates, tubes, and reservoirs

Main results and discussion

The automated workflow delivered the following outcomes:

• Time savings of 30–60 minutes per analyst per day, enabling focus on higher-value activities.
• Fully traceable data capture and protocol history via OneLab, strengthening quality assurance.
• Reduction in direct chemical handling, improving laboratory safety.
• Consistent or superior analytical performance versus manual pipetting, ensuring reliable results.
• Seamless scaling across different assay types without protocol rewriting.

Benefits and practical applications

Key advantages for food and beverage testing laboratories include:

• Increased productivity through error-free, unattended runs.
• Enhanced result reliability supporting regulatory compliance.
• Improved laboratory traceability for audit readiness.
• Cost-effective automation that accelerates return on investment.
• Applicability to diverse analyses: amino acids, pesticides, sugars, and vitamins.

Future trends and applications

The next generation of liquid handling automation is expected to integrate artificial intelligence for protocol optimization, link directly with laboratory information management systems (LIMS), and leverage Internet-of-Things connectivity for real-time monitoring. Expanded automation solutions will support complex sample matrices and higher throughput demands in food safety and quality research.

Conclusion

Implementing the Andrew+ pipetting robot in routine food and beverage testing offers tangible benefits in time savings, data integrity, and operational efficiency. Laboratories can achieve greater consistency and traceability while freeing analysts for strategic tasks, ultimately improving overall laboratory performance.