Kjeldahl vs Dumas vs NIR: Real Cost and Accuracy in Food Labs Discover the best protein analysis method—Kjeldahl, Dumas, or NIR—for your lab. Compare costs, accuracy, and industry fit. Learn more at SpectroScience.com. <p>Quality managers often ask me the same question during plant visits: "We're running 80 samples a day on Kjeldahl — is there a better way?" The honest answer is that it depends on what "better" means for your operation. Cost per sample, turnaround time, regulatory requirements, sample throughput — they all pull in different directions. Kjeldahl, Dumas, and NIR each make sense in the right context. The wrong choice costs you money either way.</p> <p>Kjeldahl is still the method most regulators point to as the reference standard for total nitrogen. Dumas delivers comparable accuracy at a fraction of the time — most Dumas analyzers finish a run in under 5 minutes. NIR turns a result in about 30 seconds, but that number is only as good as the calibration model behind it.</p> <p>Kjeldahl and Dumas yield comparable accuracy, but NIR's success hinges on robust calibration.</p> <h2>How Accurate Are Kjeldahl, Dumas, and NIR for Protein Analysis?</h2> <h2>What Are the Real Costs Involved with Each Method?</h2> ← Back to NIR Spectroscopy Blog