Food Safety: Importance of lab testing and what it means

Food Testing in the Manufacturing Industry

Why is food testing important?

Food safety testing for food manufacturers is critical as it not only maintains the reputation of the company as a high quality and reliable supplier but also ensures the health and wellbeing of its consumers. The importance of testing food, how food is transported, and the facilities it originates from has increased in importance over the last few years as consumers become more wary of what enters their home and what they consume.

With this increase in food safety and hygiene, the testing of food manufactured by a company is important for the survival of the business and its future growth.

What should we look out for when we test both ingredients and the final food product so that it meets the health and safety requirements?

There are 3 things to keep in mind:

1.  Biological Hazards

which may include the presence of “safe” bacteria, bacterial pathogens including Salmonella, Listeria, Vibrio species, bacterial toxins and viruses.

2.  Chemical Hazards

including contamination with chemicals used in the production process of raw materials including antibiotics, plant growth hormones and pesticides, as well as food additives such as preservatives, and chemicals used in the production plant such as oil, grease, and cleaning agents.

3.  Physical Hazards

including objects in food that can cause illness or injury to the consumer including glass, pieces of metal, plastic, or wood.

Get a peace of mind with Ugene Laboratory Services, with a Microbiology service that will test for biological hazards including:

·  Bacterial counts,

·  Yeasts and moulds

·  and food pathogens

and a Chemistry service which can perform chemical testing for:

·  Nutritional analysis,

·  Heavy metal determinations,

·  Preservatives etc

Ugene Laboratory Services can also undertake onsite audit and consultancy  that can help manage the supply chain and manufacturing process to eliminate physical hazards.

Get in touch with us to find out more on how we can help reduce hazards!

Together, let’s improve food safety in Singapore!