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| | ==This is demo code demoing math== |
| '''Title''': ''What types of testing occur within a food and beverage laboratory?''
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| '''Author for citation''': Shawn E. Douglas
| | As a typical example, from a [[calibration plot]] following a [[linear equation]] taken here as the simplest possible model: |
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| '''License for content''': [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International]
| | : <math>f(x) = ax + b </math> |
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| '''Publication date''': August 2022
| | where, <math>f(x)</math> corresponds to the signal measured (e.g. voltage, luminescence, energy, etc.) |
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| ==Introduction==
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| The food and beverage laboratory plays a vital role in helping improve and secure our food supply and the consumable products that get made from it. It does this by playing a number of roles within the overall food and beverage industry, including within the research and development (R&D), pre-manufacturing and manufacturing, and post-production regulation and security phases of food and beverage production.<ref name="DouglasWhatIs22">{{cite web |url=https://www.limswiki.org/index.php/LIMS_FAQ:What_is_the_importance_of_a_food_and_beverage_testing_laboratory_to_society%3F |title=What is the importance of a food and beverage testing laboratory to society? |author=Douglas, S.E. |publisher=LIMSwiki |date=16 August 2022 |accessdate=16 August 2022}}</ref> It's within these roles a multi-discipline approach to testing occurs, depending on the role played by the lab. However, regardless of role, all testing boils down to a means of better ensuring safer, more nutritious and delicious foods and beverages.
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| This brief topical article will borrow from previous discussion about food and beverage laboratories<ref name="DouglasWhatIs22" /> and dive deeper into the types of testing taking place within the three primary roles such labs have within the industry.
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| ==Broad testing within the industry==
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| Food and beverage laboratories tap into numerous scientific disciplines for the work they do. Among the various roles these labs serve, disciplines such as biochemistry, chemical engineering, chemistry, fermentation science, materials science, microbiology, molecular gastronomy, and nutrition and food science are applied.<ref name="NolletHand15">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KtAdCgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover |title=Handbook of Food Analysis (Two Volume Set) |editor=Nollet, L.M.L.; Toldrá, F. |publisher=CRC Press |edition=3rd |pages=1568 |year=2015 |isbn=9781482297843}}</ref><ref name="NielsenFood15">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i5TdyXBiwRsC&printsec=frontcover |title=Food Analysis Laboratory Manual |author=Nielsen, S. |publisher=Springer |pages=177 |edition=2nd |year=2015 |isbn=9781441914620}}</ref><ref name="DouglasTheLabs22">{{cite book |url=https://www.limswiki.org/index.php/LII:The_Laboratories_of_Our_Lives:_Labs,_Labs_Everywhere!/Labs_by_industry:_Part_2 |chapter=Labs by industry: Part 2 |title=The Laboratories of Our Lives: Labs, Labs Everywhere! |author=Douglas, S.E. |publisher=LIMSwiki |edition=2nd |date=July 2022 |accessdate=17 August 2022}}</ref> As such, a diverse skillset may at times be required by the food and beverage scientist, with not only hard skills in microbiology, biochemistry, and fermentation, but also the flexibility and nimbleness to apply those skills to a rapidly changing consumer dynamic.<ref name="IFTDiverse20">{{cite web |url=https://www.ift.org/news-and-publications/news/2020/october/26/diverse-skill-sets-needed-for-growing-opportunities |title=Diverse skill sets needed for growing opportunities |publisher=Institute of Food Technologists |date=26 October 2020 |accessdate=17 August 2022}}</ref>
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| Although slightly dated, past surveys of food processors have largely shown a majority of testing occurring within the processor facility, though with outsourcing to a third-party lab becoming a growing trend. A 2013 Advantage Business Media survey of food processors "found 32.5 percent use both in-house and outside labs; 28.9 percent use only in-house testing, and 24.1 percent send samples only to outside labs," with 14.5 percent saying they didn’t require testing.<ref name="FLynnFood13">{{cite web |url=https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/10/food-labs-integral-to-changing-world-of-food-safety/ |title=Food Labs Integral to Changing World of Food Safety |author=Flynn, D. |work=Food Safety News |date=07 October 2013 |accessdate=14 August 2022}}</ref> A 2017 survey by Strategic Consulting, Inc. and published in ''Food Safety Magazine'' saw the number of labs sending samples only to outside labs increase compared to the 2013 survey, with 28% of respondents saying they outsourced all samples.<ref name="FergusonOutsou17">{{cite web |url=https://www.food-safety.com/articles/5584-outsourcing-pathogen-testing-under-the-microscope |title=Outsourcing: Pathogen Testing under the Microscope |author=Ferguson, B. |work=Food Safety Magazine |date=12 December 2017 |accessdate=17 August 2022}}</ref> Similar surveys in 2020 reinforced the view that outsourcing was a growing trend, with more non-pathogen testing getting outsourced along with pathogen testing.<ref name="FergusonTrends20">{{cite web |url=https://www.food-safety.com/articles/6666-trends-in-food-safety-testing |title=Trends in Food Safety Testing |author=Ferguson, B. |work=Food Safety Magazine |date=24 June 2020 |accessdate=17 August 2022}}</ref><ref name="FergusonAnal20">{{cite web |url=https://www.food-safety.com/articles/6542-analytical-testing-in-food-safety-continues-to-grow |title=Analytical Testing in Food Safety Continues to Grow |author=Ferguson, B. |work=Food Safety Magazine |date=16 April 2020 |accessdate=17 August 2022}}</ref>
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| This increase may not be surprising given reports that third-party contract testing laboratories were increasingly being used for food quality and safety testing. A 2013 Strategic Consulting, Inc. report cited the rise in third-party labs was "in response to the growing complexity, cost, and volume of testing required by food producers and retailers."<ref name="FLThird13">{{cite web |url=https://www.foodlogistics.com/safety/news/11284235/thirdparty-testing-for-food-safety-is-on-the-rise |title=Third-Party Testing For Food Safety Is On The Rise |work=Food Logistics |date=20 December 2013 |accessdate=14 August 2022}}</ref> Another concern that may be driving outsourcing of at least microbial laboratory testing is regulatory pressure concerning pathogenic organisms in the production facility, and by extension out of the internally housed lab, though there may be a strong preference to contract with third-party labs in close proximity to the plant to better ensure desired turnaround times.<ref name="FergusonOutsou17" /> However, veterans in the food and beverage industry may view such outsourcing concerns as minimal, particularly when a facilities processes and quality mechanisms are appropriately reviewed, maintained, and enforced.<ref name="FergusonOutsou17" />
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| In regards to what kind of testing has historically been occurring in the industry, we turn back to that 2013 Advantage Business Media survey. Additional statistics from that survey revealed that 70.6 percent of respondents were testing for quality, 57.7 percent were testing for consistency, and 56.5 percent were conducting food safety tests for pathogens. Some 29.4 percent were testing for packaging accuracy claims, and 23.5 percent were testing for the presence of reported and unreported allergens. More recent survey data is difficult to find, so it's not clear how these numbers compare to the realities of 2022. We can say that at least as of 2020, pathogen testing remained vital, with testing of ''Listeria'' proving a fast-growing subcategory of pathogen testing, primarily for environmental monitoring of the production facility.<ref name="FergusonTrends20" /><ref name="FergusonAnal20" /> A 2020 survey by Strategic Consulting, Inc. further indicated that the volume of microbiology testing is growing at roughly five percent, while pathogen testing volume is growing at roughly six to seven percent, adding that "outsourcing is driving the volume of tests being sent to commercial labs by as much as 10 percent."<ref name="FergusonAnal20" /> The same surveyor increased those percentages the following year.<ref name="FergusonFood21">{{cite web |url=https://www.strategic-consult.com/2021/04/food-safety-testing-to-continue-to-increase-in-2021/ |title=Food Safety Testing to Continue to Increase in 2021 |author=Ferguson, B. |work=Strategic Consulting Blog |publisher=Strategic Consulting, Inc |date=16 April 2021 |accessdate=17 August 2022}}</ref>
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| Finally, Strategic Consulting added that [[polymerase chain reaction]] (PCR) is seeing an uptick in food and beverage testing as of 2021<ref name="FergusonFood21">{{cite web |url=https://www.strategic-consult.com/2021/06/food-safety-testing-to-continue-to-increase-in-2021-part-two/ |title=Food Safety Testing to Continue to Increase in 2021 (Part Two) |author=Ferguson, B. |work=Strategic Consulting Blog |publisher=Strategic Consulting, Inc |date=20 June 2021 |accessdate=17 August 2022}}</ref>:
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| <blockquote>As processors outsource their samples, PCR seems to be more frequently selected as the analytical method used than it was when the samples were analyzed in-plant. This possibility certainly makes sense. PCR requires expensive instrumentation and technical expertise to analyze samples properly. Every commercial lab will have a level of analyst capabilities and infrastructure that allows them to use PCR. Commercial labs will also have a high incentive to recommend the use of PCR to optimize the throughput of their instruments.</blockquote>
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| ==Testing within the primary roles of a food and beverage lab==
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| The type of testing occurring within a food and beverage lab will vary depending on the role it plays within the larger framework of industry needs. The following subsections examine the three primary roles of these labs and the testing required to meet their goals.
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| ===R&D roles===
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| * Improving packaging
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| https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Food+Materials+Science+and+Engineering-p-9781405199223
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| https://blogs.3ds.com/biovia/how-food-materials-science-is-poised-to-start-a-revolution/
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| https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/role-of-materials-science-in-food-bioengineering
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| * Genetic modification for improved yields and nutrition
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| https://books.google.com/books?id=qePEDwAAQBAJ
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| * Nutritional reformulation
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| https://books.google.com/books?id=vE_VDwAAQBAJ
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| * Flavor/aroma analysis and formulation
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| * Overall food innovation and development
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| https://books.google.com/books?id=DnB7AwAAQBAJ
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| https://books.google.com/books?id=jqZJEAAAQBAJ
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| * Predicting and controlling spoilage
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| * Extractable and leachable testing
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| * Performing stability tests
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| https://books.google.com/books?id=YVwNCgAAQBAJ
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| https://books.google.com/books?id=UK9tAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA508
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| https://www.innovolo.co.uk/article/the-ultimate-guide-to-shelf-life-stability-testing-services-dont-risk-your-new-products-safety
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| https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/food-science/accelerated-shelf-life
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| https://www.formulaction.com/en/about-us/news/blog/challenges-in-food-and-beverage-stability
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| ===Pre-manufacturing and manufacturing roles===
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| * Quality control testing
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| https://books.google.com/books?id=2YmpDwAAQBAJ
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| * Food sensitivities and allergens
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| * Nutritional analyses
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| * Caloric analyses
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| https://books.google.com/books?id=s3R-EAAAQBAJ
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| ===Post-production regulation and security roles===
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| * Authenticity and adulteration testing
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| https://books.google.com/books?id=Q-8QCgAAQBAJ
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| * Quality control testing
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| https://books.google.com/books?id=2YmpDwAAQBAJ
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| ==Tangential laboratory work==
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| * Processing equipment design and sanitation
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| https://books.google.com/books?id=iQDoDwAAQBAJ
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| https://engineering-update.co.uk/2020/04/03/selecting-materials-for-standard-parts-in-the-food-and-beverage-industry-a-buyers-guide/
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| https://salasobrien.com/insights/engineering-for-quality-and-compliance-in-the-food-and-beverage-industry/
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| https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/100275-processors-up-to-speed-on-fsma-but-security-issues-remain
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| * Clinical diagnostic for foodborne illness
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| FoodNet Lab Testing: https://wwwn.cdc.gov/FoodNetFast/LabSurvey
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| ==Conclusion==
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| This brief topical article sought to answer "what types of testing occur within a food and beverage laboratory?" It notes that in particular,
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| ==References==
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| {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
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| <!---Place all category tags here-->
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| [[Category:LIMS FAQ articles (added in 2022)]]
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| [[Category:LIMS FAQ articles (all)]]
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| [[Category:LIMS FAQ articles on food and beverage]]
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