Moisture content analysis is a critical component of material quality and essentially a function of quality control in most production and laboratory facilities. From biological research organisations, pharmaceutical manufacturers, to food producers and packers, moisture content control greatly influences the physical properties and product quality of nearly all substances and materials at all stages of processing and final product existence.

Moisture content determination accuracy for substance samples identifying a larger bulk volume will be as precise as the representative sample quality. When choosing material samples from a batch, the area of sample selection is crucial. For reproducible test results, a test sample must be truly representative of the entire homogenous batch being tested. For example, a bulk powder mixing process must be thoroughly blended before extracting a representative sample. In the bulk mixing process a common condition occurs where as a greater concentration of moisture exists away from the surface and edges of the material. A test sample gathered from the top will not be a true representation of the batch.