Scientist performs a research on the computer about food
Scientist performs a research on the computer about food

 

Food Safety and Quality Testing

Sometimes the foods we love and count on for good health are contaminated with germs that cause sickness and can even be deadly. Worldwide, nearly 10% of the population suffers from foodborne illness every year.1 Advancements in food safety testing can help protect the population from foodborne illness while ensuring uncompromised quality.

The United Nations agrees that safe food is a human right, not a commodity, but putting this belief into practice is easier said than done as the global population climbs toward 9 billion by 2050.1 New challenges to food quality and safety will continue to emerge, largely because of increased complexity in the food production and supply chain, new and emerging bacteria, toxins, as well as antimicrobial resistance. To detect and resolve issues early, food quality and safety testing must be implemented all along the supply chain.

Putting a Price on Food Quality

Between lost productivity and medical care, foodborne illness costs the U.S. an estimated $15.6 billion per year.1 But improved food safety testing doesn’t just protect consumers and the bottom line; it also protects brands and the environment. Producing and distributing food consume significant resources, consuming most of the world’s fresh water and producing 20% of greenhouse gas emissions (not counting the additional harms of deforestation). After all that, 33% of food ends up being wasted.1 Better food safety testing can help prevent food recalls before they happen and thereby help reduce food waste, as well as reduce transport of food that does not meet quality metrics and cannot be sold to consumers upon arrival. Instruments used in food safety testing utilize a variety of analytical technologies including liquid chromatography, molecular spectroscopy, and precision weigh scales, to name a few.

1V. Doumeizel. “Foresight Review of Food Safety: Feeding the World Safely and Sustainably.” Lloyd’s Register Foundation, 2019.

Monitoring Food Safety and Quality with ADI Technology

The global impact and critical importance of food safety on humanity and the environment calls for faster analysis, higher throughput, and more versatility in necessary testing to detect a wide range of contaminants, chemicals, pesticides, and bacteria. Food safety and quality testing also encompass food authenticity validation (for example, baby formula) as well as increase the effectiveness of allergen testing.

Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) technology enables analytical instrumentation and QA/QC tools to detect a variety of pathogens and contaminants with high sensitivity, rapid testing, measurement repeatability, and instrument reliability.

Featured Reference Designs

CN0428

CN0428 Water Quality Measurement System

A highly integrated modular sensing platform enables designs of flexible electrochemical water quality measurement solutions including pH, oxidation reduction potential (ORP), and conductivity cells.

Learn More

CN0216

CN0216 Precision Weigh Scale Reference Design

Allows great flexibility in designing a custom low level signal conditioning front end that enables overall transfer function optimization of the combined sensor-amplifier-converter circuit.

Learn More

Featured Products

Recommended Power Products