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Food Product Testing And Its Importance To Detect Adulteration

With the emergence of packaged food products, it has become very important that the producers of food products test their items before they are sent for consumption or for keeping on shelves in the supermarkets as well. it is not always that there will be some kind of adulteration from the food producer or the manufacturer, however, the possibility that there can be naturally occurring toxins in the food products (that make their way through the raw material) cannot be rules out at all. In fact, most of the times, the producer too is unaware, despite all the precautions he or she takes, that the food that they are producing contains some kinds of toxics. To catch hold of any such kind of unintentional adulteration in food products testing of these products is very important. The FSSAI has made it compulsory for all kinds of food producers to get their product samples first tested at a good testing lab in the city, that is certified by them to carry out these tests.

Also, naturally occurring toxins make it very difficult for the producers to distinguish between what batch of products is good and which has gone bad or contains toxins. The food product testing laboratory makes sure that they not just check for signs of toxicity but also checks the products in order to see how long their shelf life is, how well the preservatives work and also what kind of nutritional value they bring to their consumer with the product. This product is also tested to confirm the ingredients that the producer claims that it has. The expiration date that we see on the packaging of the product usually comes through the shelf life study. If not a specific date, it is important that the manufacturing date and time period for which the food remains fresh is mentioned.

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How Do Food Testing Labs Play A Major Role In The Food Industry?

With the food industry constantly going through changes and every year we see new trends or products being launched for consumers to try, it became all the more necessary that there be a proper food product testing done on the packaged products, irrespective of weather it is a food item or it is just a beverage. This is important mainly because of consumer safety and also due to the fact that even though the products are being made by the machines (most part at least), one cannot rule out that there could be a mistake and anything unwanted can become a part of the food or beverage item through the raw ingredients that are used in order to make them.

Sometimes, it is also necessary to make sure that there isn’t adulteration of any kind going on from the producer’s side. Hence there is also an elaborate food nutrition testing carried out which ascertains whether the process of making the product and the other nutritional details that the producer has provided matches what is found in the test or not. These tests tell us the sugar content, the amount of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and calories are present in the product. According to this, the consumer can make decision of whether they should buy the product or no.

Apart from food nutrition testing, food labs also carry out the elaborate shelf life study, in which, the time duration of the product is found. It tells us how long the said product will remain fresh for or rather how long after the manufacturing date will the product be safe for consumption. Some products have a longer durability that goes on up to a few months while some products that are easily perishable like milk or bread have durability of a few days.

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What Is The Important Of Testing Food In A Food Lab?

With packaged food becoming more of a necessity, it has become very important for people to know what they are feeding their body. While every producer of packaged food takes utmost care that the food they produce is of the highest quality and does not have any kind of toxins in it, it still is mandatory for them to send the food samples to a food testing laboratory. A food testing laboratory is a place where the food items are tested for different things. First of all, it is ascertained whether or not there is some aflatoxin in food. Secondly, they also find out if the preservatives that are added to the food are actually working or not. This means that they do a preservative efficacy challenge tests and a shelf life study, which tells us the expiration date of the food product. In simpler terms, they tell us about how long the product is going to be fresh and safe for consumptions.

Other than this, thy also do the food nutrient analysis, in which, every ingredient that is in the product is tested and made a lost of. plus, all the vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and fats percentages are also mentioned on the product packaging. Another very important mandate is that the packaging needs to have the FSSAI mark along with the registration number on the product. This mark or this logo shows that the product has been tested in a certified lab and it totally safe for consumption by the consumer. As customers, we too should be aware to at least check for this logo and the ‘use before’ or expiration date on the product. This will help us decide whether or not we want to buy the product or go for some other alternative. Being a little vigilant can really help us be safe.

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Importance Of Tea And Coffee Testing And More!

Coffee and tea and the major beverages that people drink on a daily basis. There are people who cannot think of starting their day without their favorite cup of coffee or tea in the morning. It gives them the energy and boost that they require to kickstart the day’s work. While most people prefer to have a hot cup of tea and coffee, others enjoy sipping on cold coffee and iced tea. Hot beverages cannot be packaged, but cold ones surely can. Hence, producers introduced the packaged or the carton coffee and tea for their big consumer base. Why? So that they can enjoy their preferred beverage whenever they want, by just sipping through a straw.

But consuming packaged products means having products with preservatives too. These preservatives are synthesized chemically to keep the product safe from any kind of degradation. Therefore, these packaged products need to be sent for testing so as to ascertain whether the products are really safe for consumption or not. The coffee and tea testing are done in a food testing laboratory, that tells us if any ingredients in the product is unsuitable for consumption by the masses.

Making food with minerals a part of your daily diet is very important. Minerals in food that we consume provide sufficient energy boost and aid everyday functioning of our body. These minerals are found in fresh fruits and vegetables and meat of different kinds. Good a long duration of good healthy, having sufficient amounts of vitamins and minerals as a part of your food diet is important. they not only ensure smooth functioning of the body, but they also ensure that you have a boost in immunity and wear and tear of muscles. All in all, food testing helps a producer know the capability of the food in all these things.

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What Tests Do The Preservative Go Through?

When we talk about shelf life studies and nutritional labelling, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Well generally, when we hear these two terms, we think about the life term of a product and the ingredients’ value of nutrition. Well, that is actually correct. Shelf life study tells us about how long a particular product will last for without being opened every packaged product is packed only after adding a certain amount of preservatives. These preservatives are responsible for keeping the product in tact for many months before the seal of the product is broken.

The preservatives that are added keep the product from spoiling in case of any adverse weather conditions or when the temperatures outside keep fluctuating. To make sure that the preservatives that have been added to the product is functioning well, there is a series of tests known as the preservative efficacy challenge tests. These tests tell us about the functioning of the preservatives and assesses the ability of the preservatives to reduce or eradicate the any contamination causing micro-organisms. As consumers, we aren’t always aware of the precautionary measures that a producer is mandated to take for our safety and security. But what we can do as customers is that we can check for the proper date of expiration and most importantly, the mark of FSSAI on any packaged products that we buy for ourselves or our family.

When we go about buying anything, also make sure that you check the ingredients and the nutritional value on the back of the products given. This will help you decide whether or not you want to buy it in case you are following any kind of diet regime. It is not wrong to go out buying packaged products, but make sure you put the right mind into it.

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The Purpose Of Food Nutrition Testing

Food as we know is one of the most important sources of energy for any living creature’s survival. It is known to give us nutrients that are used up by our body in order to generate energy and help us carry out our daily functions without any hinderance. When we talk about having the best things to feed our food, we usually forget that we also need to check the packaged food that we are feeding to our body. Packaged food is made available to us so as to save us some time during food preparation. However, knowing what exactly the nutrient contents of the particular food items are, is very important. For this, there is the food nutrition testing which is done in order to ascertain the nutritional value that all of the ingredients are bringing to the products. While no producer is going to intentionally put anything in the food processing that will potentially harm the consumer, there are some occurrences of accidental adulteration. To detect any such kind of intentional or unintentional adulteration food products testing in a well certified and a verified food lab is necessary. At this food lab, they don’t just test for the safety of the products, but also carry out the shelf life study, preservative efficacy tests and so on, that tell us how long the particular product will remain intact for.

As consumers, it is our responsibility to check out the ingredient like and the nutritional value table at the back of the products. This will help you make an informed decision about whether or not you want to buy the products. It is a mandate as per the FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) that every producer of packaged product gets the products checked a proper food testing lab.

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Why Is Soil Testing Necessary?

Just like food is important for all living beings to carry out their day to day activities, grow and sustain, soil is important for plants for the same thing. Through soil, the plants get all their necessary ingredients necessary for them to make their own food. While they need sun to form chlorophyll, soil provides them with all the essential nutrients and ingredients such as water and fertilizers too. The soil that any crop is cultivated on decides the fate of the plant. For this purpose, there exists something known as soil testing for agriculture. In this, the soil that is going to be used to plant the saplings and the seeds is first sent for testing to a soil testing lab. At this lab, the sample that is collected is tested across various parameters. These parameters tell us about the health of the soil.

Which means, it lets us know whether a particular soil is suitable for cultivation or it needs to undergo some reform. What happens is that sometimes, the artificial fertilizers that are added to the soil affect the health of the soil for the next cycle of cultivation. Even the pesticides that are sprinkled on the plants can remain in the soil making it as bad as being poisonous for the next plant that is going to planted over there. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary that a proper soil testing for agriculture is done. The soil doctors can then advise the farmers on the measures that must be taken in order to improve the health of the soil for future purposes. Even while planting crops and taking care of them, the farmer needs to make sure that there is no over doze artificial fertilizers and especially the chemical pesticides as it can really ruin the health of the soil for a really long time.

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What Are Food Testing Labs Important For?

Some of the best food testing labs in Mumbai are known to be the ones that are not just well equipped to carry out their testing, but also provide almost accurate results of these tests too. Food testing labs have become very important in today’s world due to various reasons. The primary need of food testing lab is that it ensures the packaged food item that is going to be provided to the masses is actually safe for their consumption. It makes sure that there is no adulteration of any kind present in the food item or the packaged beverage too. Milk too is counted as one of the beverages and it is tested well too.

A large chunk of the population today depends on the packaged food items for the need to cook swiftly or sometimes because they want to save their efforts. While there is nothing wrong in doing so, it si important that the producers of these packaged food items take care from their end to provide their customers with safe and secure items. The preservatives that are usually added to the food item to keep them fresh and actually an amalgamation of various chemicals. These chemicals work together to keep the food item in the packet secure until it is opened. But it is the duty of the food lab to make sure that the preservatives are not causing any kind of absurd reaction in the food item.

The customers should also know what they are feeding their body. For this purpose, it is mandatory for the food producers to print the ingredients of the food items on their packaging. The ingredients and the nutritional value of the products is also ascertained and calculated by a food nutrient analysis lab. The fo an in detail study of the product and make a list of the nutrients too.

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Why Are Food Testing Labs Necessary?

With the packaging food industry growing day by day, it has become absolutely important that the safety of the consumers is thought of first. Which is why in India, the FSSAI that is the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India was established in the year 2011. The FSSAI then established certain rules and regulations for dealers and producers of packaged food items. It came to their notice that customers usually trust the companies that sell packaging food items, especially because of the image of hygiene that is maintained in front of them.

However, this blind belief could actually make the matters a little worse for them too, if the product is not tested well in advance. Hence, it became a rule that any product which is going to be sold in packaging, should go through a series of tests at a food testing laboratory. The food labs across the countries were given clear instructions and a rule book mentioning all the tests that need to be done on the products are mentioned. The food testing labs, test the food item or the said beverage for things like how long will it remain safe for consumers after it is manufactured, what nutritional value is it bringing in for the consumer, whether there is presence of heavy metal/s in the product in an amount more than the safe amount (since some heavy metals like iron are important for the body) and also, whether or not the preservatives that are added to the product function well. Once this is done, the producer gets an okay signal from the food testing lab. Hence, if you happen to buy a packaged food or beverage item next, you will notice that it has the FSSAI mark over it with a code. This tells us that the product has been tested and it safe for consumption.

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How Are Antibiotics In Milk Detected?

Did you know that the milk you get in your house usually goes through a series and stages of testing before it reaches your cart or your door step (considering you have a dedicated milk man)? Well, yes. This is true and very important too, for your own safety. For every producer who sells packaged milk after pasteurizing it, needs to have the milk tested at a milk testing lab before actually sending it for packaged. This is so that, any kind of potential adulteration or antibiotic residues in milk can be detected early. These substances can be very harmful for any human. But the question is, how do these antibiotic residues actually make their way in the milk? The answer actually lies in the source of the milk, the cow or the buffalo that it milked.

Milking cows that are used in mass milking sometimes develop an inflammatory condition known as the mastitis. Here, the breasts from we get the milk swell. It is a bacterial infection. Usually this infection is treated with a very heavy dose of antibiotics. The cow is kept at rest in the cowshed until she is perfectly alright and is not milked till the vet says it is okay to do so. But sometimes, the antibiotic residues are not totally flushed out of her system even after a few days. These antibiotics then, unfortunately, sometimes make their way out through the milking glands. This is how the possibility of antibiotic residues in milk arises. For this, it is absolutely important that the milk is tested before it is sent out for sale. Milk is the most consumed beverage in the world. Even if you prefer to have tea and coffee, you are going to require milk for it. Therefore, it is vital that utmost care os taken when dealing with milk.

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What Role Does Vitamins And Minerals Play For Us?

Making vitamin foods a part of your everyday diet is recommended by doctors and health experts too. Some vitamins might not contribute to the smooth functioning of the body functions, but sure become catalysts in ensuring enough energy and required contents are supplied to each and every cell of the body. The important vitamins are A, B, C, D, E and vitamin K. While there always are artificial supplements that ensure you get all your essential vitamins, it is always a great idea to get these vitamins by eating adequate fruits and vegetables. Getting vitamins and minerals directly through food will anytime be more beneficial for your body and healthier option as well.

Just like vitamins, minerals re important for your body too. Minerals in food such as phosphorus, sodium, potassium etc. are important for your body’s nourishment, strengthening bones, teeth, and of course, make food into good energy. A healthy number of vitamins and minerals in food are required for y9our body to function flawlessly and keep healthy for as long as possible. There are around 13 minerals that are important for us, including the three that we mentioned before. They are sulfur, magnesium, calcium, chloride, and little amounts of iron, manganese, copper, fluoride, selenium, cobalt, and zinc.

The iron in food is responsible for carrying oxygen to various parts of the body. Fluorine and calcium are especially important to keep bones and teeth strong. Hence if you check your toothpaste too, you would find calcium and fluoride as main ingredients. When we talk about zinc, it has more uses than one. It not just helps in blood clot but is also important for us to be able to taste and smell. Along with this, it really gives a good boost to our immunity. Copper is more of a catalyst that helps iron in carrying out its function of delivering oxygen to the body and creating hemoglobin.

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Why Is Food Product Testing Important?

Food and beverage testing, especially in case of packaged food industry is very important. A huge amount of population depends on packaged food from time to time. It makes making your meals easier and quicker. Most of us do not even bother reading the ingredients of the specific product. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India knows this and hence, made it compulsory for the producers of every packaged consumable item, whether it be quick snacks, beverage, water, etc., to have their product tested with a food lab before making it available for consumers to eat or drink. In this food lab, the testers dissect the food product molecules and check whether it is fit for human consumption. They even make a list of ingredients and calculate the nutritional value that the ingredients are bringing with the food.

It tells us the amount of carbs, proteins, sugar, vitamins and minerals in food that the customer can expect. Along with that, it also tells us if the food item has heavy presence of heavy metals, which could be injurious to one’s health. Plus, they ascertain the time period that the food will remain in good and consumable condition for. This too is compulsory to be printed on the packaging of the product. Along with this, the producer needs to put the FSSAI logo on the packet, which is like as assurance to the customer that the product they are buying is tested and safe to consume. While dieticians and health experts often advise against buying packaged food products, our dependence on it has become quite inevitable. Therefore, we as customers should be careful while buying these products too. Check the expiration date, the ingredients and the nutritional value while you pick the product. Also look for the manufacturing date of the product as it tells you how fresh the product is.

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What Is Food Product Testing?

Food product testing is a broader term that is used to define the process through which manufacturers or producers make sure that the packaged food item they are making for the public is safe for their consumption or not. This process is a mandate by the FSSAI i.e. the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. It was established in the year 2011 and stresses over consumer protection when it comes to packaged food and beverages. It was made compulsory because packaged food and beverages remain intact for a long period of time with the help of some unique ingredients and preservatives. Since these ingredients are many a times not a part of the food item naturally, there is always a risk of this step going wrong and the composition being incorrect.

This could lead to certain health issues in the masses. Hence, before keeping the products over the shelf, it is necessary that these products be tested. there are different types of tests that are done. First of all, it is tested for the presence of any heavy metals that are present in the food item. While heavy metals are good for our human body in appropriate amounts, more than that could lead to health issues. Then, there is checking of how long a product would last if not opened. This is called the shelf life study. It involves testing the preservatives and checking its reaction with the ingredients of the basic food product as well. Along with all these, there is food nutrition testing as well. Here, all the ingredients that have gone into making the processed food item are listed and the nutrition value brought with each ingredient is also checked. This is then printed on the packaging of the material as per the guidelines by the FSSAI.

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What Are Tests Like Shelf Life Study Done For?

When you pick up a packaged or a processed food item and place it in your cart, how often do you make it a point to check beyond the expiration date? Very rarely do people actually check the ingredients and the nutritional value that the product brings to the table. Some people just trust the store and do not even check the expiration date. They just put it in their carts and walk away. However, this particular thing is very important to check if you are someone who heavily relies on processed and packaged food items.

Although it is not advised to rely on packaged food products and instead choose healthier options, time constraints do force people into counting on tinned goods for quick meal preparations. The food safety authority of every country is aware of this. Hence, today, every food producer needs to send their products for shelf life studies and nutritional labeling. In this study, the testing lab calculates the amount of time period that the food produce would remain intact, that is, without spoiling or forming molds inside. With that, even if they do not read, customers need to be informed about the ingredients in their food products and the amount of fats, proteins, sugar, carbohydrates, etc. it is getting them. The producer also needs to make sure that they check for the presence of any kind of contaminants through food products testing. Not just the expiration date, but the quality of food is also tested. There could be any kind of naturally occurring toxins, or contaminations through sources beyond our knowledge or big presence of heavy metals in food. To be able to track these all down and protect the consumers, food testing laboratories jump into the picture. They give accurate results for the same.

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How Important Is Testing Medicines Before Being Prescribed?

With the pandemic that has taken over the world, an organism that is so small that it cannot be even seen with naked eyes, the demand for medicines is at its peak. The medicine industry has always been one of the most important ones. These are drugs that help doctors cure ailments and make people feel better. The medicines prescribed by the doctors need to be taken in the exact quantity and proportion as given by the doctor or the physician. This is because, it is only in this exact quantity that the medicine will prove to be most effective and will give results. A medicine that is cure to any ailment, needs to undergo some rigorous testing before it hits the shelves of a pharmacy. USP 232 and USP 233 are two of the tests that are done to gauge the process and procedures followed in making the medicine. In fact, medicines need to undergo more testing that the usual food and beverage testing itself.

The ICP analysis is another measuring stick to find out the exact proportions and the ratio in which the contents of a medicine are mixed to make the specific medicine. Every ailment for which the medicine is given, requires the medicine to be in a specific proportion. Since medicines are trusted to be the healing agents for any sickness, it becomes all the more important to make sure that the medicines being prescribed to patients are actually safe. Doctors prescribe medicines of companies with the assumption and trust that the medicine they are prescribing will work just fine for the patient and they would feel better in no time. While laymen like you and me, who do not hold a degree in medicine or any knowledge whatsoever, cannot figure if the medicine is right or wrong, we can at least check the date of expiration marked on the medicine before consuming it.

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The Journey Of Your Packaged Product

Have you ever wondered, that the package of packed food that you picked up at your regular grocery store goes through a number of testing procedures before it reaches your food cart? Well this testing is important for various reasons. Firstly, it is vital to make sure that the food being delivered to the masses is safe for their consumption. Before the product is mass produced to be supplied to millions, it is put through some stringent tests such as heavy metal testing, testing for the presence of any kind of toxins, that might have become a part of the product unknowingly. While the presence of heavy metals is permitted up to a certain extent, any more than the permissible levels would make it very dangerous to consume.

If you scan the packaged product properly, you will notice that this product usually has a date written on it, that tell us the time period or the date on or before which the said product must be consumed. This is determined by the shelf life study, which tells us how long the product will sustain before starting to spoil. The power of the preservative is tested through the help  preservative efficacy challenge tests

, which is a detailed analysis of the preservative that is being added in the product to keep it intact. Some of the other measures that the FSSAI, that is, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, has made producers of mass packaged food to follow is that all products need to bear the mark of FSSAI on it. This assures the customer that the product has been approved by an FSSAI recognised testing lab. Other than this, it is important and compulsory to mention the product contents so that the customer can always make an informed decision about buying the product

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The Role Of Analytics Lab In Food Safety

What does it mean when the analytics labs talk about food testing? Well food testing is a process in which it is ascertained whether or not a particular food product, that is going to be sold as a packaged good, is even fit for consumption or not. This food testing is usually done on the pretext of safety measures that every food producer needs to follow before sending out packaged products of food into grocery stores for people to consume.

Under the mandates presented by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, it is very important that every food product be sent to a food lab to make sure they do not contain any kind of contaminants which would be harmful for any human’s consumption. They also test the preservatives that are added to these products, to keep them from spoiling. The test for preservatives is called the preservative efficacy challenge tests, that tells us the potential of the specific preservative in keeping the particular food item intact. No matter what the climate and temperature outside is, the particular food product does not spoil due to the presence of these preservatives in food. It is the preservatives that make it possible for the packaged product to travel across borders and oceans into other countries that import it. However, along with testing the preservatives, there is also the shelf life study that is done on these preservatives. This test or this study done by the food analytics lab tells us how long the preservatives in our food product will do their job of keeping the beverage or food inside fresh for.

It is important that the producer of these packaged food products, goes for a lab that is recognised by the food authority of the respective country only. These labs are known to be equip with all testing apparatus.