Food Microbiology Testing and Results explained – Wickham Laboratories
“All our clients can benefit from the guidance of a qualified food microbiologist whenever needed”
As a food manufacturer you'll understand the requirements of food microbiology testing particularly if you supply a retailer or other intermediate in the food supply chain. However it is clear from our experiences working alongside a wide range of food producers that often Quality Assurance departments and Technical Managers do not fully appreciate or understand why they are conducting food testing, and even what laboratory test results actually mean about their product. Current food industry best-practice relies heavily on a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) - based approach to producing food in a controlled and safe manner. The correct application of HACCP to any food manufacturing process relies on the identification of hazards within the product and the production facility. HACPP is a tool for establishing appropriate and effective control measures to eliminate or reduce the hazards to an acceptable level.
Food microbiology testing is not a control for ensuring the safe production of food for several reasons including:
- It is not a real time procedure - even with rapid method testing it simply takes too long to get a sample from the production line to the food testing laboratory and an answer back again.
- The results only relate to a portion of those samples which have been tested. If only one pack out of a production batch of 5,000 is tested, how reliably does the laboratory test results relate to the other 4,999 packs not examined?
Instead, food microbiology testing should be viewed as a means of verifying that HACCP controls are working as intended. Microbiological results can only provide a single snap-shot in time as to how the process is performing. The same is true for using environmental swabbing as a means of assessing the standard of hygiene within a food production environment. Visual inspection ratings should be cross-checked with periodic microbiological swab testing to validate acceptable levels of hygiene standards.
Laboratory food test results should never be looked at in isolation but instead should be used as a resource for establishing a long-term picture of the state of production hygiene and control. Key to effectively using microbiological test data is the establishment of a systematic programme of laboratory food testing. Because many food companies will lack the resources to run in-house food testing laboratories, sourcing a high quality independent contract testing laboratory is vital to help deliver product quality as well as food safety.
To help understand laboratory test results, the food quality assurer needs an understanding of the microbiology involved in food testing. Basic food analysis follows two routes depending on whether there is a requirement to enumerate (count) organisms, or detect the low-level presence of pathogens in large volumes of food.
Testing Services Wickham Laboratories Supply
Please use the links provided below to read and find out more about the Wickham Laboratories testing services on offer and how we interpret the testing results.