Bacteria are found everywhere, and, they play a vital role in our food system! There are the good, the bad, and the ugly kinds of bacteria.
Good bacteria, yeasts, fungi such as Lactobacilli ensure proper gut functioning and are necessary for fermenting foods such as cheese, yoghurt, and sauerkraut.
The ugly bacteria and fungi spoil our foods, luckily, these can easily be spotted visually through decomposing food. One would not eat a rotten apple, this would be visually unappealing.
The bad bacteria, viruses, and fungi of the pathogenic kind, can cause foodborne diseases in humans, some of which can be life-threatening, especially for the YOPIs (young, old, pregnant, and immunocompromised).
On world microbiome day let us appreciate these microbes.
Testing for bacteria can be done locally at accredited laboratories as suggested on our website. Food testing is critical, even more so in summer with high temperatures, where time-temperature control becomes harder to manage.
To ensure that you have reliable and accurate test results, only accredited laboratories should be used. Accredited laboratories are regularly assessed for their technical competence in line with international standards.
The above video shows testing done on poultry muscle with ELISA (enzyme-linked immuno assay) for excessive antibiotic use. Antibiotic medicine should be used within reason to avoid antibiotic resistance in microbes. Test your food for antibiotic levels at an accredited laboratory!
Further reading:
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