VDZ and ICUMSA — 125 years of scientific work for the sugar industry

Starting from the common roots of the Verein Deutscher Zuckertechniker (VDZ) and the International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis (ICUMSA), which are both allocated in the laboratory of the Verein der Zuckerindustrie (VdZ) in Berlin and can be traced back to its long-term Director Prof. Dr. Alexander Herzfeld, the continuous development of analytical methods, which have been harmonised and standardised worldwide by the ICUMSA, is reviewed.

National and international cooperation and information exchange of all involved parties is emphasised as a prerequisite, which was defined as a target already in the first constitutions and bylaws of both, VDZ and ICUMSA.

A review of the first and up till now most important achievement of ICUMSA, the international standardisation of the polarimetric determination of sugar contents in 1900, is extended by a description of further amendments till 1994. The determination of colour, an important topic for ICUMSA since the beginning, is highlighted amongst various analytical quality parameters of sugar. Standardisation of analytical ICUMSA methods today includes statistical validations based on collaborative studies, following the protocols of the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).