5 Changes in Microbiological Testing for the Food Industry

The globalization of the food supply chain and the growing concern over food safety expressed by the public has placed heavy demands and expectations on the food microbiology diagnostics sector. Players in the field describe this as a challenging and critical time which presents a mixed bag of fortunes. As it is with any market dynamics, those who are well informed stand to reap the most.

Strategic Consulting, Inc. (SCI) has published two new data reports that reveal five major trends in the food testing domain that will shape 2014.

The Correlation between Gut Health and Mental Health

Are you familiar with the long-standing idea of “gut feelings?” More than the ideas of feelings through your gut, recent studies show that the overall health of your gut may influence your mind. Those studies indicate that the presence of healthy bacteria in your gut may play a crucial part in the chemistry of the brain and total mental health.  

Quality Assurance: Creating Safe Manufacturing Environments

Technological advancements in microbiology environmental monitoring procedures have made them a popular choice in food and beverage, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. The traditional methods had limited detection abilities compared to the new technologies.

Eat Safely: 10 Ways to Know If Food Has Spoiled

Although the five human senses cannot always detect food spoilage, there are a few easy ways to know whether or not food is still consumable. If you have ever doubted the quality of food, whether inside your fridge or on the store shelf, you need to know how to tell if food has spoiled. Here are the top 10 ways to know whether or not food has gone bad:

Cooking Chicken? Safeguard Against Salmonella

A recent outbreak of salmonella linked to Foster Farms chicken, discovered in October, has resulted in more than 300 people becoming ill across the country. This alarming incident has spurred calls for people to be extra careful when handling and preparing the raw chicken they purchase in order to minimize the risk of infection.

The Difference Between Healthy Candida and Candida Overgrowth

When most people hear the word Candida, they think of itching, headaches, depression and overall ill health. While Candida does deserve some of the bad reputation it gets, lately some of the reports about Candida are completely baseless and totally false. It has caused the public to believe a lot of incorrect information and to take precautions that are completely unnecessary. People have gone on "yeast free diets" to detoxify their bodies of candida.

Do Antibacterial Soaps Do More Harm Than Good?

Many hand soaps, body soaps, dishwashing liquids, kitchen cleaners, and other soaps claim to be antibacterial, i.e. capable of killing the bacteria on the surfaces they touch. However, these claims may be called into question if a new rule proposed by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is officially implemented.