The food industry has grown to quite a great extent and with new technologies and innovations being added, there have been quite better food safety testing options available too. Talking about food safety testing, well it is one of the crucial and the last steps that help to determine whether the food is safe enough to be consumed by living beings or not. In many countries, there are FDA and FSSAI rules and regulations that are used for monitoring. Consumers must stay away from products that are not approved by any of these regulations.

The need for food safety testing:

There is no doubt that food safety testing can be of great use in many ways. It helps to make sure if the food is free from chemical, physical, and even biological hazards. Some of the examples of food contaminants are e-Coli bacteria, metals, cleaning agents, additives, and pesticides to name some. It primarily is important to ensure the overall wellbeing and health of the consumer is maintained. Testing food is important also to understand how it should be transported and what all facilities it has for the organization before it reaches the consumers and when it enters the respective bodies.

What exactly is food safety testing?

As the demand for different food products especially the ready-to-eat products has increased, consumers demand the safety report. This report is nothing but the food testing certification which has increased over quite some time. It is one of the most efficient tests that can vary quite a bit. With certain tests for quality and some other tests for chemicals and certain minerals, this option can be of great help.

As per the United States Department of Agriculture, it has been stated that food safety is one kind of a condition in which the practice is made to ensure the provenance of the quality food is done so the consumer stays healthy. This way it makes sure the contamination does not spread through the food and thus if there are any potential hazardous compounds or materials, it does not reach the consumer and increase their chances of falling sick.

There are food safety testing companies that make use of different tests to make sure the quality of the food is well intended to be consumed by the consumer. This is one kind of scientific analysis that is being done on the food and the respective content. It helps to offer all the possible details about certain food characters that include the composition, structure, and also physicochemical properties.

Importance of food safety testing:

•  To be sure about the product quality:

This way it can be clear if the manufacturer has been genuine about selling the safe products to the consumers or whether there are some ingredients used that may cause trouble when consumed.

•   Controlling the quality:

This is done three times before, after, and during the process of food creation. It is done to understand whether the food ingredients quality and finished product meet the standard or not.

This type of inspection is basically done to make sure all the set standards, rules, and regulations are well met by the food manufacturer. This way the supply of nothing but the healthy food quality is being sent to the consumers that too at the cost friendly value. Besides, measures can even protect themselves from all kinds of rumors that would hamper their reputation on creating the products related to the food. With enough lab testing reports, it is possible to even gain the trust of the customers.

How is Food Testing in Labs?

The food safety testing is done in many ways which of course are quite advanced to offer the right details about the presence of nutritional value and food safety. There are some dedicated facilities in which the consumers and manufacturers both can test the sample which shall be consumed.

Analytical Chemistry Testing:

In this type of test, there is an analysis made for different food components that include additives, PH, and even the collars and contaminants

Sensory Testing:

It is one of the basic ways of testing that includes the use of the human sense which is to taste, see and even smell.

Nutrition Analysis:

This type of testing includes understanding the nutrition food composition which can later be placed on the label of the product.

Microbiology Testing:

In this type of testing the analysis is being made for the microorganisms that could result in food contamination. It is basically done on the raw materials, ingredients, and some final products. There are also some other services of microbiology testing services such as:

•  Environmental monitoring assessments
•  Hormone testing
•  Bacterial and fungal speciation/subtyping
•  Foreign material identification
•  Spoilage investigations

Chemistry Testing:

This is an important part of food safety testing since it tests for different contaminants, heavy metals, and minerals.

Certification & Audit:

Once the overall testing is done, the food will further be shopped and for this as well, there is proper certification needed. That is why there are different audit services conducted to understand if the consumer needs are met in the right manner. This includes:

• GFSI
•  HACCP
•  GMP, Food Safety
• Sanitation
• Quality

Conclusion:

Again, the audit services and their types can vary as per the testing facility that is why it is important to ensure that research is done quite well to understand the right option that is worth it. Manufacturers can even discover wherein the supply chain is the material being delivered and thus can connect with the consumers too. In case of any impurity or harmful chemicals and colors are being used, the food testing can find it immediately. With the best art infrastructure and expert lab, food safety testing can be done in a much better way. It is always better to ensure the right option is chosen so that there will not be any kind of issue in the future. After all, the safety of the consumers is equally important.