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Testing and analysis help ensure food safety and quality by determining if pathogens, chemicals, or allergen residues are present in the processing environment or food products.
Air and water monitoring involves the monitoring and testing of air and water quality in the processing line of a facility. Test results help determine if acceptable standards are being met for a range of parameters that influence food safety and quality.
Allergen testing seeks to determine the presence of foods or food residues that are classified as allergens in foods or beverages that are not labeled as containing those foods. Class 1 allergens, which encompass the Big 9, are of the greatest concern in allergen testing.
Chemical testing and analysis examine the artificial or undesired chemicals that may make their way into food and water, including those from agricultural practices, food processing, or packaging.
Environmental testing involves the microbiological sampling of food contact surfaces or nearby areas to test for the presence of pathogens or indicator organisms. An environmental monitoring program (EMP) includes pathogen swabbing to detect risk in the sanitary conditions of the processing environment and is a verification of the effectiveness of pathogen controls in place at a facility.
Laboratory management is concerned with the management of testing procedures, control measures for sampling, reporting of pathogen findings, and laboratory accreditation.
Testing and analysis methods include processes and procedures in use or under development for performing microbiological testing, product sampling, environmental monitoring, etc.
Microbiological testing seeks to identify the presence of bacterial pathogens, viruses, and parasites on food contact surfaces, in agricultural water and soil, and in food products. Frequent swabbing to determine if pathogens are present on food processing equipment is an important part of a sound environmental monitoring program (EMP) at a facility.
Sampling programs for food examine a certain portion or product units of a particular lot of the same food as a representative of the quality and safety of the food. Sample prep for laboratory testing involves the preparation of samples for testing.
A session at the 2022 International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) Annual Meeting discussed recent developments in applications of predictive tools for meat and poultry products.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) has awarded a contract to bioMérieux to incorporate its non-enrichment quantification system, GENE-UP™ QUANT Salmonella, into FSIS’ laboratory system to conduct Salmonella quantification in raw poultry rinse samples.
The European Food Safety Commission (EFSA) has published guidelines for reporting whole genome sequencing (WGS) data to its One Health WGS System, which will support outbreak investigations and other EFSA activities.
Hygiena has announced its new AlerTox line for almond, hazelnut, and soy. AlerTox is an ultra-sensitive allergen detection system that supports thorough Hazards Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) protocols.
PerkinElmer has launched its new GC 2400™ Platform, an automated gas chromatography (GC) headspace sampler and GC/mass spectrometry solution for food safety testing laboratories.
Through the use of CRISPR-SeroSeq technology, researchers found that certain strains of Salmonella are often undetected by traditional testing methods.
A recent study suggests that the cold foods supply chain is the optimal environment for the COVID-19 virus to spread over long distances. The study explores various prevention and testing methods that could be used to mitigate the pathogen’s spread through cold-chain foods.
The food industry recognizes that consumers provide a very high level of fitness-for-purpose testing when they use products. Some shrinkage is, of course, involved in this process, but this consumer sampling will always reach beyond what is possible for a manufacturer. Instead, manufacturers make a more careful study of samples that are expected to be representative of what is delivered to the consumer. The selection of these samples, including the common misconceptions around the sampling of leafy greens, is the focus of this article.
Olymel has announced the opening of its new central microbiology lab, which will allow the company to perform in-house pathogen detection and other tests for its pork and poultry products.