USDA -- ARS, Administrative Office, 1925 Linden Drive West, Madison, WI 53706

37 -- FOOD TEXTURE ANALYZING INSTRUMENT SOL 001-3655-003 DUE 012600 POC Jean Weinbrenner, Purchasing Agent, (608)264-5322 The USDA-ARS Sugarbeet and Bean Research Unit, East Lansing, MI requests quote's for the purchase of a food texture analyzing instrument for research in fruit postharvest quality. The specifications for this instrument are as follows: The instrument shall be able to perform tests in both tension and compression for cycling, flexure, constant strain and stress relaxation on agricultural and food products such as fruits and vegetables. The instrument shall be equipped with a 25 kg load cell and have a maximum capacity of 50 kg. The load cell shall be able to measure forces to an accuracy of 1 gm or better. The instrument shall have a loading rate between 0.1 mm/sec and 10 mm/sec or higher with the accuracy of less than 0.1% of set speed. The normal travel range for the crosshead should be no less than 290 mm with the extended range of no less than 500 mm. The accuracy for displacement measurement should be within 0.01 mm. The instrument shall have a control and display panel, allowing for setting up and displaying measurement parameters such as force, speed, travel distance, and time. The instrument shall be relatively light and compact with the total weight no more than 30 kg, so that it can be easily set up on a table and can be carried as needed. The instrument shall allow for easy attachment of commonly used probes for food texture measurement. The instrument shall come with data acquisition and analysis software, an A/D converter board, and cable for test parameter configuration and data acquisition. The software shall be compatible with Windows 98 and easy to use. It shall have the capability of performing data analysis to extract essential food texture information. It shall provide results for each individual test as well as the statistics of all tests. The software shall allow data to be saved in a format that can be read or imported into other programs for further analysis. The accessories needed for this acquisition include a Magness-Taylor fruit probe set (w/ 3, 6, and 11 mm diameter) and a 2" diameter-loading probe for compression tests. Delivery of this equipment will be made to USDA-ARS, Sugarbeet & Bean Research Unit, 207 Farrell Hall, MSU, East Lansing, MI 48824. Delivery shall be FOB Destination. Simplified Acquisition Procedures apply. Please fax request for solicitation package to (608) 264-5275. Please include you fax and phone number. Posted 01/05/00 (W-SN413422). (0005)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0184 20000107\37-0002.SOL)