Food break test or breaking or bending tests are commonly used for hard or brittle foods that snap, though some softer products are tested this way.

Usually the product is stressed until it breaks and the peak or maximum force is measured but sometimes the amount of movement it will absorb before it gives way is also of interest.

The most common set up for this type of test is referred to as a “3 point bend”. The product is supported by 2 “fulcrums” on either side and a third, center fulcrum comes down to apply the bending force. The distance between the two side fulcrums is adjustable to accommodate different sized samples. FTC offers several variations of the 3 point bend apparatus to alloy testing very fragile to very hard products.