Food technology Standards Summary - October 2025

Looking back at October 2025, the Food Technology sector experienced a focused wave of standardization activity, as three pivotal international and European standards were published. These new documents spotlighted the latest advancements in analytical testing, food ingredient quality, and methods to detect critical contaminants.

This overview covers ISO 21846:2025, EN 18032:2025, and ISO 21921:2025, and unpacks their technical content, practical implications, and significance for professionals striving to maintain quality, safety, and compliance in the fast-evolving world of food technology. Whether you're a quality manager, compliance officer, food engineer, or procurement specialist, this summary will help you identify what mattered most in October's standards landscape and guide your implementation priorities.

Monthly Overview: October 2025

October 2025 marked a convergence of advances in analytical methodologies and ingredient quality benchmarks within the Food Technology sector. The three standards released this month reflect a clear trend: rising emphasis on rigorous, precise testing for both food authenticity and safety, and the establishment of stricter norms for food additives and processing ingredients.

Compared to previous periods, the month brought:

• A strong focus on laboratory-based analytical protocols, aimed at validating both ingredient identity and purity
• Enhanced attention to food safety, especially addressing both intentional and unintentional adulteration or contamination
• Support for international harmonization, bridging ISO and CEN methodologies for global supply chains

The publications indicate a sector moving toward tighter control from raw ingredient sourcing through to finished product quality and safety. With the increasing complexity of food supply chains and the rise of regulatory scrutiny, these standards serve as foundational tools to help organizations demonstrate due diligence and meet international best practices.

Standards Published This Month

ISO 21846:2025 – Vegetable fats and oils – Determination of composition of triacylglycerols and composition and content of diacylglycerols by capillary gas chromatography

Full Title: Vegetable fats and oils — Determination of composition of triacylglycerols and composition and content of diacylglycerols by capillary gas chromatography

This second edition standard details highly specialized analytical protocols for quantifying the composition of both triacylglycerols and diacylglycerols in vegetable oils (specifically those with lauric acid < 1%). Capillary gas chromatography is used to separate, identify, and quantify fatty acid compounds, offering precise data essential to verifying oil quality, freshness, and authenticity.

The methodology described enables users to:

• Detect and characterize isomeric forms (1,2-DAGs vs 1,3-DAGs), a metric closely tied to oil freshness and history of technological treatment
• Profile triacylglycerol content to create 'fingerprints' for specific oils, supporting authentication and fraud detection (e.g., detection of adulteration in olive oil)
• Quantitatively report the proportion and stability of diacylglycerol isomers, an emerging quality marker

Who should use this standard?

• Analytical laboratories
• Vegetable oil producers (edible oils sector)
• Food authenticity researchers
• Regulatory authorities monitoring food fraud and labeling

Regulatory fit & features: The revision updated several key data tables, improving reproducibility and error correction. The approach harmonizes international monitoring of vegetable oil authenticity, aligning food safety and quality frameworks.

Key highlights:

• Analytical protocols for capillary gas chromatography in edible oils
• Quality criteria based on DAG isomer ratios to assess freshness/adulteration
• Supports fraud detection and authenticity assurance in the global oils market

Access the full standard:View ISO 21846:2025 on iTeh Standards

EN 18032:2025 – Foodstuff – Quick Method for the Analysis of Multiple Highly Polar Pesticides and Their Metabolites in Foodstuff Involving Extraction with Acidified Methanol and Measurement by LC- or IC-MS/MS (QuPPe-Method)

Full Title: Foodstuff — Quick Method for the Analysis of Multiple Highly Polar Pesticides and their Metabolites in Foodstuff Involving Extraction with Acidified Methanol and Measurement by LC- or IC-MS/MS (QuPPe-Method)

EN 18032:2025 introduces an advanced, rapid multiresidue method for analyzing highly polar pesticide residues and their breakdown products in a diverse array of foods (both of plant and animal origin). Traditional multiresidue detection methods often fail to capture these compounds, making this QuPPe (Quick Polar Pesticides) Method a major step forward for food safety.

Specifically, this standard:

• Defines a harmonized process involving extraction with acidified methanol, followed by precise quantitation using liquid (LC-) or ion chromatography-mass spectrometry (IC-MS/MS)
• Covers an assortment of matrices: fruits, vegetables, cereals, pulses, seeds, nuts, milk, liver, honey, and more
• Includes advanced clean-up modules for protein- and fat-rich samples, and guidance on calibration using isotope-labeled internal standards (IL-ISs)

Target Users:

• Food safety and quality control labs
• Residue testing service providers
• Food processors and primary producers exporting to regions with strict pesticide regulation

Regulatory fit & features: EN 18032:2025 directly addresses EU food law requirements on monitoring for 'difficult' pesticides (e.g., glyphosate, AMPA), ensuring broader scope in compliance testing.

Key highlights:

• Authoritative method for detecting highly polar pesticide residues not captured by standard tests
• Modular, matrix-adaptable protocol for wide variety of foodstuffs
• Calibration and quality control aligned with the latest regulatory directives

Access the full standard:View EN 18032:2025 on iTeh Standards

ISO 21921:2025 – Oxidized starch in food applications – Specifications and test methods

Full Title: Oxidized starch in food applications — Specifications and test methods

ISO 21921:2025 defines the quality requirements and laboratory test procedures for oxidized starches used as food ingredients. Widely employed as stabilizers, binders, emulsifiers, and thickeners across the food industry, oxidized starches are essential for texture, shelf life, and product performance in myriad applications.

This standard specifies:

• Mandatory physical and chemical quality indexes (e.g., viscosity, pH, copper reduction, carboxyl content)
• Limit values for contaminants and microbiological criteria
• Robust methods for verifying oxidized starch identity and ensuring absence of harmful by-products
• Clear marking, packaging, transport, and storage requirements for compliant supply chain management

Who needs to comply:

• Ingredient suppliers and processors
• Food manufacturers using functional starches in recipes/formulations
• Quality management and purchasing departments

Regulatory fit & features: ISO 21921:2025 provides scientific underpinning for acceptance testing of food-grade oxidized starch, serving as a harmonized global reference amid increasing scrutiny on food ingredient safety and purity.

Key highlights:

• Specification of test methods and threshold values for oxidized starch properties
• Microbiological and contaminant criteria for food-grade compliance
• Covers entire supply chain: production, labeling, and distribution

Access the full standard:View ISO 21921:2025 on iTeh Standards

Common Themes and Industry Trends

A review of October 2025’s Food Technology standards publications reveals several cross-cutting trends:

• Advanced Analytics Setting New Benchmarks: Both ISO 21846:2025 and EN 18032:2025 underscore the sector’s progression toward more sophisticated, laboratory-centric protocols that generate highly reproducible, actionable data.
• Authenticity, Fraud Detection, and Quality Control: Standards now target authenticity and product integrity as much as safety, helping regulators and industry combat adulteration and mislabeling—especially in high-value commodities like oils.
• Expanded Safety Monitoring: By capturing previously hard-to-detect pesticide compounds, EN 18032:2025 fills critical gaps in food safety oversight, further aligning practice to ever-tightening legal thresholds for contaminants.
• Ingredient Transparency and Acceptability: With ISO 21921:2025, there is renewed emphasis on setting objective, globally harmonized criteria for common food additives, helping organizations respond to regulatory and consumer pressures for ingredient purity.

The standards collectively indicate a maturing regulatory ecosystem where scientific rigor and high-frequency testing are central to market access, brand reputation, and consumer trust.

Compliance and Implementation Considerations

For organizations operating across the food supply chain, each of these standards carries both obligations and opportunities:

• ISO 21846:2025: Review and align laboratory testing protocols for vegetable oils to utilize the updated chromatographic methods, particularly if you supply or certify high-integrity oils (e.g., olive oil, specialized blends). Train analysts on revised tables and ensure GC instrument calibration and reporting match the new specifications.

• EN 18032:2025: Implement the QuPPe-Method for highly polar pesticide residues, especially for high-value exports or compliance with EU/EFTA/UK receival standards. Procure or validate LC-MS/MS or IC-MS/MS capability, and adopt isotope-labeled standards for improved quality assurance. Validate in-matrix clean-up procedures and ensure all laboratories are trained in the modular extraction and clean-up approaches.

• ISO 21921:2025: Verify incoming oxidized starch shipments against this standard’s chemical, physical, and microbiological criteria. Update supplier contracts and internal acceptance protocols. Ensure correct labeling, traceability, and storage as per the standard’s supply chain requirements.

Recommended priorities:

1. Map out which products, processes, and suppliers are impacted
2. Allocate resources for laboratory verification and staff training
3. Develop phased implementation roadmaps aligned to the compliance dates set by buyers and regulators

Resources for getting started:

• Engage external laboratories accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 for method implementation
• Collaborate with suppliers for specification harmonization
• Use iTeh Standards’ resources for full-text access, cross-references, and guidance tools

Conclusion: Key Takeaways from October 2025

October 2025’s standards releases for Food Technology signal important shifts in both operational expectations and strategic priorities for the sector. The drive toward transparent supply chains, rigorous analytic verification, and ingredient specification standardization is unmistakable—from advanced chromatographic testing of oils to comprehensive, fast-residue screening of pesticides, and clear-cut criteria for food-grade starches.

For industry professionals, the key imperatives are:

• Stay abreast of emerging analytical requirements and make timely upgrades to laboratory infrastructure and staff capability.
• Review quality and procurement contracts to ensure full alignment with new ingredient standards.
• Monitor regulatory trends: as detection methods become more sensitive and wide-ranging, expectations for product integrity and consumer safety will continue to rise.

Staying current with these standards not only ensures compliance, but also supports market expansion, risk management, and reputational strength. For more detailed information and direct access to any standard discussed, visit iTeh Standards and leverage our platform’s deep technical resources and compliance guidance tools.