Key Food Safety and Detection Trends to Know

Food safety and testing trends are changing the food supply and distribution outlook.

FREMONT, CA: COVID-19 brought challenges for every industry, influencing the way they will need to adapt to the future. For example, the food manufacturing sector witnessed problems with plants shutting down due to outbreaks, labor shortages, and domino-effect supply chain issues, forcing them to adjust to continue meeting customers' demands and supplying safe food to the public.

Changes in lab testing and detection have resulted from these adjustments, impacting four major trends in food manufacturing labs that are projected to continue in the newer future.

Testing levels continue to increase: Customers planned to reduce testing and production in plants to compensate for the loss of workers due to pandemic-related labor shortages in manufacturing roles. Following the trend of expanding manufacturing employment, testing should increase in the coming years, raising the plants' baseline production levels.

Food testing labs turn to automation technology: Even though lab personnel numbers are beginning to rise, demand for automation technology will continue to grow, owing to its demonstrated capacity to boost lab productivity and meet client demands. Due to the flexibility to step away from tests, lab personnel can multitask with automation technologies, increasing the amount of testing done despite the absence of humans in labs.

Third-party labs gain popularity: In the case of food production, tests will be carried out either on-site or at a third-party lab. Even with labor shortages, many businesses still lack the personnel to maintain a dedicated on-site testing laboratory. As a result, producers will turn to third-party laboratories for assistance in increasing testing volumes and productivity. Not only have third-party labs benefited producers with testing, but they also frequently can do confirmation tests on products, which would not be possible if done on-site. And as a result of the recent merger among third-party labs, their ability to transfer products around for necessary testing is considerably more accessible and more feasible than if testing were done on-site.

Shifting to locally sourced products: With activities in the supply chain expected to persist, the food manufacturing sector may need to rely increasingly on small growers and other quality product providers to meet demand.

With governments and states imposing COVID-19 regulations and dealing with labor difficulties, receiving and sending products around the globe is significantly more difficult. Not only are labs attempting to rely on locally obtained products to help deliver products to their final destination, but customer demand for locally-based products is also expanding. Consumers are seeking consistent food on the shelves, less time spent between the farmer and the grocery store, and fewer persons touching the goods across the chain.