Food safety is the foundation of public health along with economic stability. With the surge in globalisation and complicated food supply chains, guaranteeing the integrity of food products is more significant than ever.
Innovative analytical methods that are developed and validated through Association of Official Analytical Collaboration (AOAC) have become highly crucial tools in the field of food safety. These techniques tend to provide protocols that are accurate, reliable, reproducible and standardised. These approaches help in successful detection of contaminants to ensure regulatory compliance. In addition to this, CMDC labs are specialised labs that have been playing the role in implementation of these techniques, coming up to the highest standards in terms of food testing.
The Significance of Food Safety And its Requirement
The importance of food safety extends beyond it being a regulatory requirement. It is an important need that directly influences public health, consumer confidence along with global trade.
Food that is deemed unsafe for consumption can in-turn result in severe health issues such as the spread of foodborne illnesses. This category of illness affects millions on an annual basis.
Other than this, contamination can also lead to an economic loss putting a strain on the brand reputations. Food safety is a combined responsibility that involves the industries, laboratories and even the government itself.
AOAC International: Setting the Gold Standard
AOAC is a recognized worldwide as an independent organization that is responsible for developing along with validating analytical methods for a number of different industries including the agriculture and food industry.
AOAC’s policies and methods have been considered as the ‘gold standard.’ This is because they are gone through rigorous collaborative studies. Moreover, these methods are also tested for accuracy and precision.
Some of the features of these methods include:
1- Contaminant Detection
Identification of disease causing agents such as pathogens, heavy metals, mycotoxins and pesticides.
2- Nutritional Labelling
This is done so as to make sure that products meet the desired nutritional requirement.
3- Regulatory Compliance
Coming up with international food safety stands like FDA, EFSA, Codex Alimentarius and USDA.
4- Food Authenticity
This is a crucial step to prevent fraud.
Advanced AOAC Techniques in Food Safety
The innovation of analytical techniques has led to the development of AOAC methods. These methods incorporate advanced technologies to address diverse food safety challenges.
1- Mass Spectrometry (MS)
Mass Spectrometry is a highly powerful technique that is often used in combination with chromatographic methods (mentioned below).
MS provides sensitivity and specificity so that detection of contaminants can be detected at parts-per- billion (ppb) levels.
Some of the uses have been mentioned below:
- To verify the authenticity of food items.
- Identification of banned ingredients with in food products.
- Identification of allergens and toxins.
2- Chromatographic Techniques
Chromatography is a highly flexible and versatile tool that is very commonly used in AOAC techniques.
- Liquid Chromatography (LC): This is most suitable for identification of non-volatile items such as mycotoxins, vitamins or pharmaceutical products.
- Gas Chromatography (GC): This is best suited for volatile compounds, for example: pesticide residues.
- High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC): This is often used in conjunction with mass spectrometry for increased sensitivity along with specificity.
3- Spectroscopic Techniques
This technique provides fast yet non-destructive analysis. The key methods include nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), infrared (IR) spectroscopy and atomic absorption spectroscopy or AAS.
These methods can assess the quality of food and to identify heavy metals such as mercury and lead.
CMDC Labs: A Catalyst for Food Safety
CMDC Labs has been on the forefront that holds a speciality in food safety along with quality testing. Through the use of advanced AOAC methods, CMDC labs guarantee that the food products meet the highest food safety standards. Some of the major contributions of CMDC Labs have been listed below:
1- Innovative Method Development
CMDC labs has always been on the forefront of method development along with their validation. The labs collaborate and work in coherence with AOAC along with other regulatory bodies to contribute to the field of food safety.
2- Training and Capacity Building
CMDC labs have invested in training programs to build professional and expert AOAC methods. Some of the initiatives taken have been mentioned below:
- Collaborative studies for the validation of new methods.
- Platforms that are knowledge-sharing.
- Workshops conducted for industry professionals.
3- Regulatory Compliance along with Consultation
The lab is equipped to provide detailed support to food manufacturers along with exporters. This helps them explore the complex regulatory landscapes with a lot of ease. Some of the services provided have been listed below:
- Assistance in product certification
- Providing customised and personalised testing solutions as an attempt to meet with the specific regulatory requirements.
4- Implementation of AOAC Methods
CMDC labs apply AOAC-approved techniques as a way to provide reliable and accurate services of testing.
