FOOD SAFETY TRAINING
Consumers drive a rapid rise in laboratory testing, inspection and certification The need for laboratory testing, inspection and certification (TIC) has never been greater, and is continually growing. A recent estimation of the value of the burgeoning global food safety testing market is that it could pass $7 688 million by 2025 and is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.1% by 2025.
T
his demand for TIC is being driven by
cost to the meat processing industry and the
parasites, harmful algae, fungi, and the
a rising global food trade, changing
manufacturer at the source of the outbreak,
patterns of their corresponding foodborne
government regulations and a new
this incident has led to a significant increase
diseases and risk of toxic contamination.
generation of consumer that is health
in demand for laboratory testing and more
conscious and values the environment,
in-depth testing versus the traditional
among other things. Therefore, future
testing for hygiene and compliance.
product contamination recall could cause
Manufacturers and processors in
OUTSOURCING LABORATORY TESTING The rising challenges of food safety
significant financial losses, reputational
Africa need a secure supply chain
and testing are complex. Add to this the
damage, supply chain disruption and
to ensure their products’ safety and
severe collapse of the global economy
stricter regulation.
quality from farm to fork. Moreover,
in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19
accessing international markets requires
pandemic and this has put many
compliance with strict regulations.
companies under strain.
Over the past decade a series of food fraud scandals and disease outbreaks across the world have required laboratory
While many countries, in line with
For companies wanting to optimise
regulations, carry out extensive laboratory
performance and deliver cutting-edge
testing, far more in terms of regulation needs
testing capabilities while minimising costs,
LISTERIOSIS OUTBREAK IN SOUTH AFRICA
to be achieved to circumvent Africa from
outsourcing to an independent third-party
being the dumping ground for sub-standard
organisation, such as Bureau Veritas with
A South African example is the outbreak of
products. For example, in 2018 as much
a depth and breadth of expertise, is the
Listeriosis in 2017/2018. It was found to be
as 40% of the pharmaceutical products
strategic option.
caused by a listeria strain called sequence-
entering Africa, beyond Southern Africa,
type six (ST6). Two major manufacturers
were counterfeit.
testing to go beyond the norm.
of polony - cheap processed ready-to-eat
Bureau Veritas, a world leader in testing, inspection and certification, has
South African based BV M&L laboratory is
anticipated this trend and by leveraging
meat - recalled all their products. At the
a member of the World Health Organization
the expertise of its 300 laboratories
time the government also suggested that
(WHO) and the only independent laboratory
worldwide including 10 in Africa, to launch
South Africans avoid all types and brands
geared for pharmaceutical testing in South
a suite of innovative partnership solutions
of polony.
Africa. It carries out the testing for major
for companies, ranging from laboratory
pharmaceutical companies that import their
design for lean operations to fully
listeria, but none of these is lethal. It took
products as well as the overflow testing
outsourced operational management.
serotyping to identify the lethal strain of
and one- to five- year shelf-life testing for
listeria, which was found to be a mutation of
international pharmaceutical companies that
logical step for many operators who want
the common strains. Besides the enormous
have their own testing laboratories in
to focus on their core business. Reshape
There are several well-known strains of
the country. Another future
Outsourcing of on-site testing is a
Your Laboratory has been developed in response to approaches from companies
consideration is
operating in industries as diverse as agri-
climate change.
food, chemical production, oil refining
This too is going
and mining.
to have far-
Partnering with Bureau Veritas offers
reaching direct and
strategic and financial advantages,
indirect effects.
including internal cost-savings or a
Extreme weather
conversion of fixed overheads into variable
events and higher
costs, greater flexibility, enhanced
annual average
expertise, innovative digital solutions and
temperatures
risk mitigation, all of which allow you to
will affect the
focus on your core activities. •
persistence and occurrence of bacteria, viruses,
28
October 2021 | FOOD RE VIEW
Bureau Veritas - www.bureauveritas.africa
