While the overall quality of food is not as important as the source, pathogens are often found in locations where food is stored before it is distributed. The recent emphasis on food safety products & testing has led to food manufacturers investing billions of dollars into making their facilities germ-free and produce consistently safe for consumption. The importance of frequent testing food, the facilities it stems from, and how it is shipped are all being prioritized in light of recent heightened concerns about what goes into our bodies and what comes out.
There are several common types of food safety products & testing methods used by facilities to test for the existence of bacteria and other infectious agents in food products. The most common include viral, bacterial, and parasitic contamination with either E. coli or hepatitis virus. E. coli testing methods rely on temperature and physical processes to identify the presence of particulates. Food processing methods such as E. coli and hepatitis test for both the physical state and genetic components of the organisms, but only deal with surface contamination.
Viral and bacterial testing methods rely on either identification using molecular probes or incubation of samples to identify pathogenic species. Agar methods rely on culture and temperature cycles to identify microorganisms. All of the methods can be combined to test for a broad spectrum of contaminants including synthetic ingredients, antibiotics, and growth enhancers, pesticides, hormones, recycled water, pharmaceuticals, solvents, VOCs, MTBE, pesticides, flavorings, additives, stabilizers, artificial colors, and flavorings, food additives, and preservatives. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for regulating the food safety testing Act and creating the Food Safety Data Collection (FSDC) system which collects, verifies, and records food product information to assess contamination.
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