Monday, May 19, 2014

Microbial Food Trends



Every year seems to end with its own share of food-related scares and scandals. And 2013 made its own mark on both ends. With the recent and ongoing bacteria-laced scares, as well as the European-based horse meat scandal, Americans have spoken out and expressed their unwillingness to take anymore. It’s about time. As such, food trends for 2014 focus more on microbial testing and elimination of specific pathogen-based contaminants.

Becoming ill due to personal mishandling of food isn't an uncommon situation. But when it happens on a grand scale, that’s something completely different. The food industry loses millions of dollars annually due to food recalls. While those have nothing to do with the consumer and everything to do with the poor treatment of food from factory to shelf, the consumer eventually loses. Costs are increased to cover legal fees, proper testing for future food batches, advertising to cover or amend the damage, and restocking at your favorite market or grocer.

That $2 pack of chicken, therefore, ends up costing you closer to $12. And it doesn’t stop there. Practically every form of food you can purchase can contain dangerous bacteria or pathogens. The Food Safety Modernization Act is just one of the U.S based regulations helping to establish the following food trends:

Global-wide Microbiological testing has already begun. While all countries won’t participate, North America and China, specifically, are making real efforts to ensure all food is tested properly before leaving the factory.

Contact labs are replacing in-house testing. Microbial testing isn’t cheap, but it is necessary. Unfortunately, due to factory-based scandals and recalls, many corporations insist they can’t afford to staff their own testing facilities. As such, pre-existing labs which were relatively low business before hand are now being staffed with extra chemists to handle the heavier testing demands from multiple companies. Pharmaceutical microbiology takes center stage, utilizing trained chemists and specialized microbiology instruments to determine, control, and treat potential dangerous contaminants that lead to recalls and disease outbreaks.

Once upon a time it took weeks, sometimes months, to receive results of proper microbiological testing. That’s changed with use of use of rapid microbial methods. RMM isn’t exactly new, but it has been shy to take over the test labs…until recently. With the new upswing in food safety requirements, time is of the essence. People in North America, as well as businesses, have no patience to wait for their food. RMM allows quicker accurate results for levels of bacteria and pathogens leading to Salmonella, Strep, and E.coli, just to name a few. These results are confirmed within days, and quite often under 24 hours time. Compared to weeks or months with previous methods, this is a substantial improvement within the scientific field.

Many food manufacturers are also leaning towards more holistic measures for their products. Growing items free of harmful herbicides, encouraging the usage of home-baked goods over factory manufactured, and improving the facts on labels; including allergen concerns, ingredient validation, and vitamin verification; are just a few trends that should stick. Food monitoring encompasses the general education to shopper. Not everyone is a food scientist and it’s about time companies treat consumers with the appropriate respect and honesty.

As long as the trends actually improve the overall health of the food sources, the above trends should prove to be beneficial to both the global economy and overall health. Mass-promoted and encouraged microbiological testing is a step in the right direction that can't be denied anyway.

Contact Biolumix to learn more about rapid microbiological testing methods.


Biolumix
3928 Varsity Dr.
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
Phone: (734) 984-3100
Fax: 734-222-1830
Email:
info@mybiolumix.com
http://www.mybiolumix.com/
https://plus.google.com/103841943418192727689/

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