Benefits of a pathogen challenge test
- Safety Assessment and Risk Identification: Determines if a food product can support the growth of relevant pathogenic bacteria, ensuring consumer safety.
- Shelf-Life Evaluation: Helps establish safe shelf-life durations for products by simulating storage conditions.
- Regulatory Compliance: Provides evidence to meet food safety regulations and support claims of product safety.
- Informed Safety Measures: Guides the implementation of safety measures or reformulations based on test results.
- Realistic Simulations: Conducts tests under typical conditions, offering a realistic assessment of product safety.
Pathogen Challenge Testing Services
Ensure Your Products Meet the Highest Safety Standards
At QIB Extra, we understand that ensuring the safety and quality of your food products is your top priority. Our team led by Dr. Martin Webb has many years of experience in the performance of challenge testing, which are designed to meet the specific needs of our customers.
Whether you are developing new products or improving existing ones, our services provide the critical data you need to ensure food safety and maintain your reputation in the market.
Why perform a challenge test?
While predictive modelling based on product type, pH, water activity, and salt levels can provide valuable insights, it can only offer a certain degree of assurance that pathogens will not grow or survive in your food products. When properly designed and conducted, these challenge tests offer food manufacturers greater confidence in the safety and stability of their products as outlined below.
Accurate Assessment of Pathogen Behaviour
Challenge tests provide a realistic evaluation of how specific pathogens behave in a particular food product under actual storage. This allows food producers to:
- Determine if a food can support pathogen growth
- Assess the effectiveness of preservation methods
- Evaluate product safety throughout its shelf-life
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Validation of Food Safety Measures
Challenge testing helps validate the efficacy of antimicrobial processes and preservation techniques used in food production. This allows manufacturers to:
- Verify that kill steps effectively reduce pathogen levels
- Confirm that formulation or packaging prevents pathogen growth
- Demonstrate compliance with food safety regulations
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Improved Product Development
The results of challenge tests provide valuable data to guide product formulation and processing decisions. Benefits include:
- Optimising preservative systems
- Determining appropriate shelf life
- Identifying potential food safety risks early in development
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Quality Control and Risk Management
Challenge testing supplements other quality control measures by:
- Evaluating product safety under various storage conditions
- Assessing the impact of ingredient or process changes
- Providing data to establish appropriate microbiological specifications
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Which bacteria?
Listeria monocytogenes
Applications: Ready-to-eat foods, dairy products, meat, seafood
Listeria monocytogenes is a serious threat in the food industry, particularly in ready-to-eat (RTE) foods. Our Listeria challenge testing simulates real-world conditions to evaluate the potential for Listeria growth in your products. This testing helps you assess the effectiveness of your control measures and ensures your products remain safe throughout their shelf life.
Campylobacter
Applications: Poultry products, dairy, and other at-risk foods
Campylobacter is one of the leading causes of bacterial foodborne illness worldwide. Our Campylobacter challenge testing service assesses the potential for Campylobacter growth in your poultry and food products under various conditions, providing essential data for process validation.
Salmonella
Applications: Meat, eggs, dairy, processed foods
Salmonella remains a significant concern in the food industry. Our Salmonella challenge testing service allows you to validate your product's safety, while ensuring the accuracy that cannot be found in predictive modelling testing, by assessing the risk of Salmonella survival and growth under real-world conditions.
Clostridium perfringens
Applications: Cooked meats, gravies, and other high-risk foods
Clostridium perfringens is a spore-forming bacterium that can cause foodborne illness, particularly in improperly cooked or stored foods. Our challenge testing service assesses the ability of C. perfringens to survive and multiply in your products, providing critical data for safety validation.
E. coli
Applications: Ground beef, raw milk, fresh produce
E. coli, particularly the Shiga toxin-producing strains, can cause severe foodborne illness. Our
E. coli challenge testing evaluates the risk of
E. coli survival and growth in your products, helping you validate cooking, pasteurisation, or other control methods.
Bacillus cereus
Applications: Rice, pasta, dairy products, and spices
Bacillus cereus can cause food poisoning through the production of toxins in food. Our
Bacillus cereus challenge testing service helps you evaluate the potential for toxin production in your products, ensuring they are safe for consumption.
Contact Us
Ensure your products meet the highest safety standards with our challenge testing services. For more information or to discuss your specific needs, please
contact us. Lastly, to find out more on how we can provide long-term consultancy for your food challenge testing needs, please go to our
microbiology consultancy services page.
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