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Title: What is the importance of a food and beverage testing laboratory to society?

Author for citation: Shawn E. Douglas

License for content: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Publication date: August 2022

Introduction

Humanity's focus on food and water security remains one of its most important tasks in the twenty-first century,[1][2][3] particularly in the face of growing concerns about the negative ramifications of climate change.[4][5] Without a continued focus on food and water security—including all the quality and safety assurances that come with it—many elements of the world population face a grim reality of insufficient food, limited access to clean water, and malnutrition.[1][6]

In contrast to these stark realities (which are just as much about agricultural practices, societal and governmental practices, public health practices, and human approaches to climate change), much has admittedly improved in the way we ensure food and beverage security and safety, at least compared to times prior to the twentieth century. In fact, the laboratory and the science practiced in it have arguably played a significant role in better ensuring safe, quality food and beverages in our lives. However, the laboratory is only one part of an otherwise "complex adaptive system of governance"[7] that is food safety, which in turn is only one part of a larger system dedicated to food and water security.

This brief topical article will examine how modern society benefits from a food and beverage testing laboratory. It will turn to history, statistical data, and description of the roles such labs play, demonstrating their overall value.

History of food and beverage testing and regulation

The history of laboratory-based food and beverage tasting is a scattered one, with little being documented about foodborne illness and food safety until the nineteenth century. With a better understanding of bacteria and their relationship to disease, however, more was being said about the topic by the mid- to late-1800s.[8] In the Northwest United States during the 1860s, recognition was growing about the threat that tainted milk originating from dairy cows being singularly fed distillery byproducts had to human health. Not only was the milk generated from such cows thin and low in nutrients, but it also was adulterated with questionable substances to give it a better appearance. This resulted in many children and adults dying from consuming the product. The efforts of Dr. Henry Coit and others in the late 1800s to develop a certification program for milk, which included laboratory testing among other activities, eventually helped plant the seeds for a national food safety program.[9]

Roughly around the same time, during the 1880s, Britain saw more public health awareness develop in regards to digestive bacterial infections. "As deadlier infections retreated," argues social historian Anne Hardy, "food poisoning became an increasing concern of local and national health authorities, who sought both to raise public awareness of the condition as illness, and to regulate and improve food handling practices."[10] This led to further efforts from public health laboratories to promote the reporting and tracking of food poisoning cases by the 1940s.[10]

With the recognition of bacterial and other forms of contamination of foodstuffs, as well as the effects of dangerous adulterations with toxic substances, additional progress was made in the realm of regulating and testing produced food and beverages. Notes of interest along the way include[11][12][13][14][15]:

  • The Pure Food and Drug Act and Beef Inspection Act were passed in 1906 in response to food quality issues in packing plants, on farms, and other areas of food production.
  • In 1927, the U.S. Food, Drug, and Insecticide Administration was formed to better enforce the Pure Food Act.
  • By 1945, Clostridium perfringens was being identified as a common cause of foodborne illness[8], and today it is recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as one of the top five provocateurs of foodborne illness.[16]
  • The seeds of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) quality control method were planted in 1959, when Pillsbury began working with NASA to ensure safe foods for astronauts. The value of Pillsbury and NASA's methodology became apparent to the food and beverage industry by 1972, and other organizations began adopting HACCP for food safety.
  • The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act of 1966 brought standardized, more accurate labeling to food and beverages.
  • The Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 mandated HACCP for most food processors and improved pesticide level calculations.
  • FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was enacted in 2011, giving the FDA more enforcement authority and tools to improve the backbone of the U.S. food and water supply.
  • In December 2021, the Laboratory Accreditation for Analyses of Foods (LAAF) amendment to the FSMA was approved, providing for an accreditation program for laboratories wanting to further participate in the critical role of ensuring the safety of the U.S. food supply through the "testing of food in certain circumstances."

This progression of scientific discovery and regulatory action has surely managed to reduce risks to U.S. food and beverage consumers, though not without complication and complexity.[7][17] As the U.S. population has grown over the past 100 years, it has become more difficult to have a sufficient number of inspectors to examine every facility and all they do, necessitating a risk assessment approach to food and beverage safety.[11][12][18] As such, the laboratory is a critical component of risk-based safety assessments of food and beverage products.

Related statistics

Estimates of Foodborne Illness in the United States - "All told, contaminated food causes 48 million illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths each year in the United States." : https://www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden/index.html

Laboratory utilization statistics (2013): https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/10/food-labs-integral-to-changing-world-of-food-safety/

The roles a laboratory may have in the food and beverage industry

Laboratories directly and tangentially related to the food and beverage industry play a number of roles, depending on where they're situated. These roles prove to be important in the greater scheme of industry activities, in turn providing a number of benefits to society. As gleaned from prior discussion, as well as other sources, these laboratory roles can be broadly broken into three categories: research and development (R&D), pre-manufacturing and manufacturing, and post-production regulation and security.

R&D roles

The laboratory participating in these roles is performing one or more tasks that relate to the development or improvement of a food, beverage, additive, or spice. This often leads to a commercial formulation, which has the "necessary details required to scale and produce your [food or beverage] in a consistent, efficient, and safe manner."[19] Even packaging solutions are targets for R&D labs in the food and beverage industry.[20]

The R&D lab is typically placed outside the manufacturing context proper, but not necessarily always. Some manufacturing companies may have an entire research complex dedicated to creating and improving some aspect of their products.[21] Other companies may take their R&D to a third-party lab dedicated to conducting development and formulation activities for manufacturers.[19][20] Food and beverage research activities aren't confined to manufacturers, however. Some higher education institutions, such as the Hartwick College Center for Craft Food & Beverage, provide research and development opportunities to students engaging in work-study programs, often in partnership with some other commercial enterprise.[22]

Food and beverage R&D labs may work towards improving packaging, testing a product's shelf life (i.e., stability), conducting flavor or aroma analysis, developing and innovating foodstuffs, reformulating existing products, and researching genetic modifications to ingredients. The end user benefits by having fresher foods that are culinarily pleasing, more nutritious, and safer for consumption.

Pre-manufacturing and manufacturing roles

The laboratory participating in these roles is performing one or more tasks that relate to the preparative (i.e., pre-manufacturing) or quality control (i.e., manufacturing) tasks of food and beverage production. Preparative work such as caloric and nutritional analysis may happen in a variety of contexts, from inside the R&D lab to in the manufacturing facility's lab itself, if it has one. This work may also be conducted by a third-party lab, or it may even be performed using non-laboratory techniques such as food composition database analysis.[23][24] However, caloric and nutritional testing—in conjunction with meeting regulatory-driven labeling requirements—still lands firmly in the role of pre-manufacturing activity, definitively after commercial formulation and packing requirements have been finalized but before the formal manufacturing process has begun.[25] Allergen testing works in a vaguely similar fashion, though the manufacturer ideally uses a full set of best practices for food allergen management and testing that is confirming allergens (and correct labeling) from ingredient ordering to final production line cleanup (e.g., when a new allergen-free commercial formulation is being made or an unintended contamination has occurred).[26] The end user benefits from these caloric, nutritional, and allergen analysis activities not only through the provision of a more transparent window into what they are consuming, but these laboratory activities also can better ensure end users' attempts at maintaining their own good health.

Finally, laboratory testing can also be found along the production chain in the manufacturing facility itself. This type of testing is couched as quality control testing, primarily, or as quality assurance, secondarily. Some of this analysis may be integrated into the production workflow, as with x-ray inspection.[27] Fluorescence sensing technologies are also useful for contaminant testing, though they are largely limited to laboratory use, with hopes they may become more relevant for inspection at the point of production.[28] This move to "novel, rapid, and non-destructive" methods of testing both in the lab and in the production facility appears to be a growing trend[29] , loosening the concept of the "quality control laboratory" as an entity in the facility. Regardless of analytical location, the quality control lab provides benefits to society by being a critical component of an overall quality management system that better ensures the safety of those consuming the final product.

Post-production regulation and security roles

The laboratory participating in these roles is performing one or more tasks that relate to the post-production examination of foods and beverages for regulatory, security, or accreditation purposes. This type of testing examines raw ingredients, consumable products, and packaging found not only in a production facility but also in locations such as shipping docks, farms, grocery stores, and more. Labs are often third parties accrediting a producer to a set of standards, ensuring regulatory compliance, conducting authenticity and adulteration testing, conducting security checks at borders, and applying contamination testing as part of an overall effort to track down the source of a foodborne illness. In the last case, the lab may not even be a traditional "food and beverage" lab but rather a public health laboratory, highlighting in full the human safety elements associated with our food and water supplies. The human safety element is also seen in government labs such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service's (FSIS) Field Service Laboratories, which "coordinate and conduct laboratory analytical services in support of the Agency's farm-to-table strategies in the disciplines of chemistry, microbiology, and pathology for food safety in meat, poultry, and egg products."[30] In addition to ensuring a safer food supply, society also benefits from these and similar labs by better holding producers accountable for their production methods and obligations.

Conclusion

This brief topical article sought to answer "what is the importance of a food and beverage testing laboratory to society?" It notes that in particular,

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Niza-Ribeiro, João (2022), "Food and water security and safety for an ever-expanding human population" (in en), One Health (Elsevier): 155–204, doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-822794-7.00003-4, ISBN 978-0-12-822794-7, https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780128227947000034. Retrieved 2022-08-10 
  2. ↑ Young, Sera L; Frongillo, Edward A; Jamaluddine, Zeina; Melgar-Quiñonez, Hugo; Pérez-Escamilla, Rafael; Ringler, Claudia; Rosinger, Asher Y (30 July 2021). "Perspective: The Importance of Water Security for Ensuring Food Security, Good Nutrition, and Well-being" (in en). Advances in Nutrition 12 (4): 1058–1073. doi:10.1093/advances/nmab003. ISSN 2161-8313. PMC PMC8321834. PMID 33601407. https://academic.oup.com/advances/article/12/4/1058/6144691. 
  3. ↑ Hameed, Maysoun; Moradkhani, Hamid; Ahmadalipour, Ali; Moftakhari, Hamed; Abbaszadeh, Peyman; Alipour, Atieh (2 April 2019). "A Review of the 21st Century Challenges in the Food-Energy-Water Security in the Middle East" (in en). Water 11 (4): 682. doi:10.3390/w11040682. ISSN 2073-4441. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/11/4/682. 
  4. ↑ Molotoks, Amy; Smith, Pete; Dawson, Terence P. (1 February 2021). "Impacts of land use, population, and climate change on global food security" (in en). Food and Energy Security 10 (1). doi:10.1002/fes3.261. ISSN 2048-3694. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fes3.261. 
  5. ↑ Din, Muhammad Sami Ul; Mubeen, Muhammad; Hussain, Sajjad; Ahmad, Ashfaq; Hussain, Nazim; Ali, Muhammad Anjum; El Sabagh, Ayman; Elsabagh, Mabrouk et al.. (2022), Jatoi, Wajid Nasim; Mubeen, Muhammad; Ahmad, Ashfaq et al.., eds., "World Nations Priorities on Climate Change and Food Security" (in en), Building Climate Resilience in Agriculture (Cham: Springer International Publishing): 365–384, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-79408-8_22, ISBN 978-3-030-79407-1, https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-79408-8_22. Retrieved 2022-08-10 
  6. ↑ Miller, Joshua D; Workman, Cassandra L; Panchang, Sarita V; Sneegas, Gretchen; Adams, Ellis A; Young, Sera L; Thompson, Amanda L (1 December 2021). "Water Security and Nutrition: Current Knowledge and Research Opportunities" (in en). Advances in Nutrition 12 (6): 2525–2539. doi:10.1093/advances/nmab075. ISSN 2161-8313. PMC PMC8634318. PMID 34265039. https://academic.oup.com/advances/article/12/6/2525/6322255. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lytton, Timothy D. (2019). "An Introduction to the Food Safety System". Outbreak: Foodborne Illness and the Struggle for Food Safety. Chicago ; London: The University of Chicago Press. pp. 1-23. ISBN 978-0-226-61154-9. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Roberts, Cynthia A. (2001). The food safety information handbook. Westport, CT: Oryx Press. pp. 25-28. ISBN 978-1-57356-305-5. 
  9. ↑ Lytton, Timothy D. (2019). "Chapter 2: The Gospel of Clean Milk". Outbreak: foodborne illness and the struggle for food safety. Chicago ; London: The University of Chicago Press. pp. 24-64. ISBN 978-0-226-61154-9. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Hardy, A. (1 August 1999). "Food, Hygiene, and the Laboratory. A Short History of Food Poisoning in Britain, circa 1850-1950" (in en). Social History of Medicine 12 (2): 293–311. doi:10.1093/shm/12.2.293. ISSN 0951-631X. https://academic.oup.com/shm/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/shm/12.2.293. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Redman, Nina (2007). "Chapter 1: Background and History". Food safety: a reference handbook. Contemporary world issues (2nd ed ed.). Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-59884-048-3. OCLC ocm83609690. https://www.worldcat.org/title/mediawiki/oclc/ocm83609690. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Stevens, K.; Hood, S. (2019). "Chapter 40. Food Safety Management Systems". In Doyle, Michael P.; Diez-Gonzalez, Francisco; Hill, Colin. Food microbiology: fundamentals and frontiers (5th edition ed.). Washington, DC: ASM Press. pp. 1007-20. ISBN 978-1-55581-997-2. 
  13. ↑ Detwiler, Darin S. (2020). "Chapter 2: "Modernization" started over a century ago". Food safety: past, present, and predictions. London [England] ; San Diego, CA: Academic Press. pp. 11-23. ISBN 978-0-12-818219-2. 
  14. ↑ "Background on the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)". Food and Drug Administration. 30 January 2018. https://www.fda.gov/food/food-safety-modernization-act-fsma/background-fda-food-safety-modernization-act-fsma. Retrieved 14 August 2022. 
  15. ↑ Douglas, S. (21 February 2022). "FDA Food Safety Modernization Act Final Rule on Laboratory Accreditation for Analyses of Foods: Considerations for Labs and Informatics Vendors". LIMSwiki.org. https://www.limswiki.org/index.php/LII:FDA_Food_Safety_Modernization_Act_Final_Rule_on_Laboratory_Accreditation_for_Analyses_of_Foods:_Considerations_for_Labs_and_Informatics_Vendors. Retrieved 14 August 2022. 
  16. ↑ "Foodborne Germs and Illnesses". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 18 March 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/foodborne-germs.html. Retrieved 13 August 2022. 
  17. ↑ Floros, John D.; Newsome, Rosetta; Fisher, William; Barbosa-Cánovas, Gustavo V.; Chen, Hongda; Dunne, C. Patrick; German, J. Bruce; Hall, Richard L. et al. (26 August 2010). "Feeding the World Today and Tomorrow: The Importance of Food Science and Technology: An IFT Scientific Review" (in en). Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety 9 (5): 572–599. doi:10.1111/j.1541-4337.2010.00127.x. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1541-4337.2010.00127.x. 
  18. ↑ Food Safety: Current Status and Future Needs. American Academy of Microbiology Colloquia Reports. Washington (DC): American Society for Microbiology. 1998. PMID 33001600. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK562616/. 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Why You Need A Commercial Formula". BevSource. 13 August 2022. https://www.bevsource.com/news/why-you-need-commercial-formula. 
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Gude, T. (2019). "Solutions Commonly Applied in Industry and Outsourced to Expert Laboratories". In Suman, M.. Food Contact Materials Analysis: Mass Spectrometry Techniques. Royal Society of Chemistry. doi:10.1039/9781788012973-00245. ISBN 9781788017190. 
  21. ↑ "Mondelez International Breaks Ground for New Research & Development Center in Poland". Mondelez International. 8 June 2016. https://ir.mondelezinternational.com/news-releases/news-release-details/mondelez-international-breaks-ground-new-research-development. Retrieved 13 August 2022. 
  22. ↑ "Hartwick College Center for Craft Food & Beverage". Hartwick College. https://www.hartwick.edu/about-us/center-for-craft-food-and-beverage/. Retrieved 13 August 2022. 
  23. ↑ "How to Obtain a Nutritional Analysis of Your Food Product" (PDF). ESHA Research. December 2014. https://esha.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ESHA-Obtaining-Nutritional-Analysis-eBook.pdf. Retrieved 13 August 2022. 
  24. ↑ Noh, M.F.M.; Gunasegavan, R.D.-N.; Khalid, N.M. et al. (2020). "Recent Techniques in Nutrient Analysis for Food Composition Database". Molecules 25 (19): 4567. doi:10.3390/molecules25194567. PMC PMC7582643. PMID 33036314. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7582643. 
  25. ↑ "What Do I Need To Know About Nutrition Testing for My Beverage Brand?". BevSource. 13 August 2022. https://www.bevsource.com/news/what-do-i-need-know-about-nutrition-testing-my-beverage-brand. 
  26. ↑ "Code of Practice on Food Allergen Management for Food Business Operators, CXC 80-2020" (PDF). Codex Alimentarius. 2020. https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/sh-proxy/en/?lnk=1&url=https%253A%252F%252Fworkspace.fao.org%252Fsites%252Fcodex%252FStandards%252FCXC%2B80-2020%252FCXC_080e.pdf. Retrieved 13 August 2022. 
  27. ↑ Draus, C. (15 November 2017). "Quality Control or Quality Assurance in the Food Industry?: X-ray Inspection Equipment Ensures Both". Eagle PI. https://www.eaglepi.com/blog/quality-control-or-quality-assurance-in-the-food-industry/. Retrieved 13 August 2022. 
  28. ↑ Han, A.; Hao, S.; Yang, Y. et al. (2020). "Perspective on recent developments of nanomaterial based fluorescent sensors: applications in safety and quality control of food and beverages". Journal of Food and Drug Analysis 28 (4): 2. doi:10.38212/2224-6614.1270. 
  29. ↑ Aadil, R.M.; Madni, G.M.; Roobab, U. et al.. "Chapter 1. Quality Control in Beverage Production: An Overview". In Grumezescu, A.M.; Holban, A.M.. Quality Control in the Beverage Industry. The Science of Beverages. 17. Elsevier. pp. 1-38. ISBN 9780128166826. 
  30. ↑ "FSIS Laboratories". Food Safety and Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. 26 April 2019. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/science-data/laboratories-procedures/fsis-laboratories. Retrieved 13 August 2022. 
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