Food Safety & Quality Scientific Library

Thanks to new approach offered by bioMérieux, cutting-edge technologies in molecular biology, genomics, bioinformatics and data science are now accessible for an operational management of food safety and quality program. Unlock new and actionable insights to help answer the most important questions, solve your challenges, and improve your operations.

Among the solutions offered by bioMérieux's disruptive Augmented Diagnostics approach, manufacturers  can  now  count  on  the  exploration  of  the  microbiome,  this investigative protocol has been imagined by experts based on metagenomics. The aim is to know and understand micro-organisms beyond the limits of traditional microbiology, in order to understand their impact and the problems they cause in food products.

Among the solutions offered by bioMérieux's disruptive Augmented Diagnostics approach, manufacturers can count on pathogen mapping. This solution starts with the sampling of a persistent pathogenic bacterium and seeks to characterize it through genomics. In other words, decipher its DNA profile and understanding how it works. A highly effective solution.

Raw beef contamination is a worldwide public health concern. Every year, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) outbreaks are associated with the consumption of contaminated beef products across the globe. Salmonella and Listeria are also two main pathogens of increasing concern in the beef industry.

In January 2024, the EFSA has released a scientific opinion about persistence of microbiological hazards in food and feed production and processing environments. In this article bioMérieux helps you to extract the highlights from this publication.

The partnership with Cornell University led to the development of GENE-UP® PRO ACB assay, a PCR multiplex method with a 24-hour enrichment. The assay targets Alicyclobacillus species on the FAM channel and predicts the ability of the species to produce guaiacol on the Cy5 channel. GENE-UP PRO ACB is therefore replacing two tests into one and provides results in 27 hours.

In the intricate landscape of food manufacturing and production, ensuring product safety and quality is paramount. The implementation of a robust and comprehensive environmental monitoring program is essential for achieving these objectives, safeguarding both consumers and the reputation of food factories.

Ready-to-eat (RTE) meal manufacturers have a lot on their plates, especially when it comes to spoilage and contamination. The presence of pathogens in ready-to-eat foods is a more serious threat to public health than their presence in raw meat products because ready-to-eat foods do not usually receive additional treatments to eliminate these bacteria ; meanwhile, they may contain native microflora including pathogenic bacteria of the raw material from which they are prepared.

The genus Listeria has considerably expanded since 2009 to now include 27 species with diverse phenotypic and genotypic  characteristics. Comparative characterization of all current Listeria species clearly indicates that the current Listeria species represent two distinct groups, 

BIOBALL^® LUMINATE 2.0 brings precision, accuracy and innovation to food industrials to ensure microorganism quality control in their products.

A 2017 survey published in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology revealed that over 90% of juice manufacturers surveyed indicated that better control over microbial spoilage would have moderately to greatly increased profits and reduced waste.

Bacillus cereus Group, also known as presumptive Bacillus cereus or B. cereus sensu lato comprises closely related species widely distributed in the environment and food matrices. Besides characteristic colonies on MYP agar, these species exhibit highly divergent properties and their distinction remains challenging.

Salmonella bacteria can cause severe foodborne illness. Learn more about Salmonella infection, prevention, and control in the food industry.

Salmonella enterica is a leading worldwide cause of foodborne human illnesses (WHO, 2015). Salmonella isolates can be differentiated into serotypes according to the Kauffmann-White classification based on their flagellar (H) and somatic antigens (Grimont P. & Weill F.X., 2007) or using genome-based serotyping approaches (Banerji S. et al., 2020).

Craft beer brewhouses and large-scale breweries alike must rely on rapid and accurate spoilage organism detection to avoid beer contamination. Due to the nature of the microorganisms, beer contaminants can easily go undetected by traditional microbiology detection.

Learn about Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli, a pathogenic bacteria typically transmitted from animals to humans through contaminated food.  

As the name would suggest, nutraceuticals combine the ‘nutrients’ derived from natural food sources with the health-promoting implications of ‘pharmaceutics’. Nutraceuticals claim a wide range of physiological benefits depending on the chemical makeup of their sources, including boosting immune health, chronic pain management, and improving overall wellness.

Learn more about Enteropathogenic vibrios, a bacteria commonly associated with infections causing gastrointestinal symptoms. 

Read more about the Bacillus cereus group, a gram-positive rod-shaped bacterium commonly found in soil and food.

All of the information required for a living being to grow, reproduce, and mature is encoded in sequences of 4 building blocks called nucleotides commonly abbreviated as C, G, A, and T) polymerized into long chains contained within cells called deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).

Your craft brewery is up and running, and demand is starting to grow. How do you ensure the product you are selling remains consistent in taste and quality as production increases? In addition to the physico-chemical parameters that you will be probably already monitoring in your quality control laboratory, setting up a brewery microbiology quality control capability in your laboratory is critical in answering these questions.

All beer spoiler microorganisms possess DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) which contains the genetic instructions for the development and function of living things. While in animals, plants and yeasts the DNA is contained in the cell nucleus, in bacteria the DNA is present in their cytoplasm (the material within a cell, enclosed by the cell membrane).

My needs concerning a beer spoiler detection set-up are identified. What technological choices do I have for my laboratory?

Definition: Beer Spoilers are microorganisms that can change the flavour, aroma, or appearance of beer in a manner deemed undesirable by the brewer (and the consumer!!). Although there is some overlap, brewers seek to divide spoilage organisms into the categories of “beer spoilers” and “wort spoilers,” with the latter largely inhibited by alcohol, pH, and/or the anaerobic environment created by yeast fermentation (Priest 2003).

All breweries, as part of their microbial plan, aspire to curb the number of opportunities that beer spoilers, essentially bacteria or yeast, have to enter their establishments. As part of a brewery’s Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan, the brewer needs to identify the different sources of contamination in his/her establishment and try to prevent access of the microbes.

Beer Spoilage Detection: What factors to take into consideration when choosing the right testing technology?

Discover more about Campylobacter, a common food pathogen and bacteria commonly associated with gastroenteritis in humans. 

Read more about Listeria bacteria and how it is safely monitored and controlled in the food manufacturing and processing industries.

Human enteric viruses are the number one cause of food-borne outbreaks worldwide. Whether you are a producer, an importer, an exporter, a processor, a retailer, a wholesaler, taking into account the viral risk is crucial to protect consumers. Unlike most bacteria, food-borne viruses do not change the flavor nor the aspect of the food products; moreover, they are hard to get rid of with the usual agro-industrial processes.

From a human safety aspect, historically beer was always considered a safe drink (compared to water) in that pathogens were not found in beer. This is in part thanks not only because the wort is boiled in the kettle but also due to the level of alcohol, hop resins and a low pH. That said, certain microbial contaminants, the so called “beer spoilers” can propagate in beer and be responsible for off-flavours, acids and non-desirable aromas as well as hazy beers.