The steady growth in population and the accompanying rise in the cost of natural produce have seen a proliferation of processed edibles and a need for more stringent food safety testing. Where once we may have known that a slice of ham or a breast of chicken was cut fresh from an actual joint and served unadulterated other than by the condiments we may choose to use as accompaniments, this is no longer the case.

That honey-roast gammon is now more than likely to have been re-constituted into a geometrically perfect slice from the proceeds of many different animals and mingled with water, starches and various agents to bind it, flavour it, colour it and to preserve it. These convenient, vacuum-packed products may look like the real thing but nothing could be further from the truth.

In addition to those additives listed by the manufacturer on the packaging, there may be traces of innumerable other substance accumulated from external sources during the processing. The potential presence of such compounds is often then covered by cryptic phrases such as “may contain traces of nuts” or “contains sulphites”. To those who may suffer from allergies to these substances, such phrases have the power to strike terror into their hearts and also serve to explain why it is that food safety tasting has become so much more important today.

Today’s concerns are not those of the past when public health labs focussed their attention mainly on the detection of salmonella in poultry and brucellosis or tuberculosis in cattle. Instead much of the current attention needs to be levelled at the presence in processed foodstuffs of significant concentrations of potential allergens. For the majority of those who experience allergies, an exposure to an offending protein will result in little more than an eruption of hives or perhaps a mild asthma attack. For a few however, the effect could be far more serious. The extreme symptoms that accompany anaphylactic shock have the potential to result in death unless remedial action is taken quite quickly.

This newly acknowledged health risk has led to some stringent new government regulations governing the content and labelling of processed foodstuffs. As a result, to ensure the detection and accurate assay of the allergens that are commonly to be found in our food now requires far more sensitive and accurate safety testing procedures than in the past. At IEPSA we specialise in the supply of the equipment and reagents that are required to meet the exceptional levels of performance that are now required.

Founded in 1980, our original operation was dedicated to the sourcing and distribution of a number of specialised diagnostic products. In the intervening 33 years we have grown dramatically and the company now serves the analytical needs of both the established and the emerging medical disciplines along with those of the food industry. In support of the latter, IEPSA offers a range of tried and tested products sourced international leaders in this field.

From CDR Systems in Italy we offer a number of options for the safe, accurate and rapid analysis of foodstuffs. These include a range of compact analysers for specific purposes such as the measurement of free fatty acids, iodine (IV), Anisidine (AnV) and peroxide (PV) values and carotene in palm oil. As well as systems suited for the analysis of wine, other beverages and a wide range of other natural and processed edibles.

From the US-based company, Neogen, we also offer a very comprehensive range of food safety testing kits. These are characterised by their unequalled ease of use that serves to minimise the required user time and thus to maximise both productivity and convenience. Among the most comprehensive on the market, this range of kits offers all of the requirements to perform detailed dairy analysis, check for adulterations such as methanol, detect a broad selection of allergens, identify meat species including the controversial horse variety and identify the presence of the most common foodborne pathogens.

In fact, the list is just the tip of the iceberg and the range also includes kits for the detection of drug and pesticide residues, mycotoxins and even the presence of genetically modified organisms.

In addition to sourcing only world-class products, we at IEPSA have always striven to remain abreast of the latest developments in the many varied fields that we now serve. The policy allows us to back these superior food safety testing products with expert technical support.

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