Microbiological Tests on Food: Everything You Need to Know

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Anyone dealing large-scale food retail needs to pay attention to two things. The first one is the quality of the source of your food. Your food must come from a regulated environment where adequate attention is given to preventing pests, diseases and harsh chemicals. Secondly, you need to be keen on meeting industry standards by ensuring that your food passes the necessary tests before hitting the market. These tests are crucial for profiling and classifying the food for the intended customers. Indeed, all food retailers need information on food testing. If you are one of them, this article will teach you what you must know about microbiological food testing.

Microbiological Testing Explained

Most foods are highly perishable. This means that they will go bad if you do not store them under the right conditions. Food goes bad because of attacks by microbiological organisms such as fungi, bacteria and mould. When you carry out microbiological tests, you can detect such harmful microorganisms and keep them from ruining your food. The tests help you identify the specific organisms involved so that you can take the right measures to contain their effects.

The Methods Involved in Microbiological Testing

There are several methods you can use to identify the presence of microorganisms in your food products. Some of the popular ones include:

• Immunoassay – The immunoassay technique uses immunoglobulin or antibody solution to detect macromolecule concentration in a solution. In most cases, the macromolecule detected is based on a protein, often referred to as an analyte. The identified proteins are unique to certain microbiological organisms, indicating their presence in the target media (food).
• Polymerase chain reactor (PCR) – PCR is a revolutionary technique developed a few decades ago to help in verifying the presence of microbiological organisms in food. Using this test, food safety practitioners can recognize particular RNA and DNA pieces associated with microbiological organisms.
• Culture media technique – The culture media technique is also reliable when testing for microbiological organisms in food. It relies on a special medium found in testing laboratories to detect microbiological organisms through growing or culturing. Essentially, the culture medium comprises various nutrients to enhance the growth of the microorganisms and make detection easy. The medium involved could be solid or liquid, with practitioners using powerful microscopes to segregate the various microbiological organisms they encounter. It is worth noting that the time taken to obtain results could range from several hours to a week. The objective is to give enough time for the microorganisms to grow with the medium you are testing.  

12 August 2021