Researchers recently demonstrated the inadequacy of an industry standard quality test—Laboratory Pasteurization Count—for raw, organic milk, as it cannot sufficiently differentiate between groups of bacteria.
Funded by the Center for Produce Safety, a University of Georgia researcher is leveraging cutting-edge technology to improve the standard method for detection of viruses on foods, and then will use the method to study infectious norovirus persistence on berries.
Phenomenex Inc. recently launched PhenoAcademy, a practical, step-by-step online educational program focused on chromatography, which has multiple applications in food and beverage analysis.
A recent study has analyzed methods of environmental monitoring for Listeria monocytogenes in food production facilities, comparing two alternative methods against a traditional culture-based method.
Researchers from the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) have developed a method of detecting toxic per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food packaging, water, and soil samples in three minutes or less.
Ongoing debates about the use of rapid microbiological test methods in food safety have led to the rise of many questions about the future of this type of testing. This column will explore which methods are being used, food processors' views on what attributes of the tests are most important, how fast is fast enough, and what even faster tests would enable them to accomplish. It also explores where the growth may continue and whether rapid methods used in commercial labs will continue to drive growth, or if a plateau is likely. Growth in regions outside of the U.S. and Europe will also be examined, along with whether rapid testing technology is evolving to the point where it may be acceptable to bring back the analysis to an in-plant lab.
A recent study published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) as a supporting publication has revealed that certain genetic criteria may determine the food safety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and could lay the groundwork for developing new methods to assess the risks of genetically engineered food and feed.
A fully automated assay to detect Cyclospora cayetanensis, developed under a Research Collaboration Agreement between the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Rheonix, is now available to food and environmental testing laboratories, and has been proven to achieve consistent detection rates in samples of high-risk fresh produce with low levels of oocysts.
Two complimentary studies funded by the Center for Produce Safety (CPS) are using genomic sequencing technology to examine how storage conditions affect microbial growth on pears, with a focus on Listeria monocytogenes.
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