The value of bundling your challenge testing, shelf life, sensory analysis and consultancy through a single partner

18 March 2025 | Linda Everis, Section Lead – Microbiology Safety and Spoilage

While we recognise that ensuring the safety, quality, and longevity of food products is always paramount, we also appreciate that in an increasingly competitive world, there is growing pressure on food producers to save time and money.

Subsequently, if you are a food manufacturer running various aspects of your food testing and analysis in isolation, and struggling to get the answers you need or move as quickly as you want, maybe it is time for you to consider an alternative, more joined up approach?

The power of having everything you need under one roof

Whether you have an urgent food safety issue or need the right evidence to support a compliance requirement and more. Whatever challenge you have, while testing is typically the first stage to helping you resolve your issue, the ability to quickly interpret those results or validate your microbiological methods is equally important. And having additional consultative expertise on hand to help you make the best-informed decision about what to do next is also critical if you are to maximise consumer safety and protect your brand.

However, if you are still working in isolation with multiple providers for many of your microbiological services, you may struggle to move as quickly as you need or achieve the results you require to take the next best course of action.

Fortunately, your experience will be much smoother if you outsource all your microbiology needs with a single partner like Campden BRI. From our experts in challenge testing and shelf-life testing, to our extensive consultancy support and training. Thanks to our multiple areas of expertise and cross departmental working, our experts can consider our clients food safety and compliance needs from multiple angles. This helps to ensure that every aspect of food production, from microbiological safety to sensory quality, is thoroughly evaluated.

Our clients can be confident that all they need to do is send us a sample and we can take care of everything else, through the full mix of services we can offer to meet their needs.

The benefits of adopting a holistic approach for your microbiology services

There are substantial benefits to be gained from bundling your challenge testing, shelf life, and consultancy through a single partner.

Here are some of the key ones.

Enhanced food safety

The ability to prevent food poisoning and reduce spoilage are essential priorities for any food company. And your ability to identify, manage and mitigate potential risks is substantially enhanced when you can move at speed to obtain all the microbiological services you need under one roof.

Fortunately, if you work with us, you can take advantage of our extensive offerings across challenge testing, shelf life, consultancy and training to help boost your level of control and confidence in producing safe food.

Efficiency savings

If you have a single provider for your testing process, it can help reduce the need for multiple, separate tests. This not only saves time, but can also reduce your costs

Next to food safety, efficiency is paramount for food manufacturers to survive in an increasingly competitive market.

Moving from a siloed to a more holistic approach for your microbiology services can help streamline your processes.

Consider testing. If you have a single provider for your testing process, it can help reduce the need for multiple, separate tests. This not only saves time, but can also reduce your costs, as you are allocating your resources more efficiently.

In addition, if you are working with a partner like Campden BRI, you can also take advantage of additional services ranging from microbiological method evaluation and risk assessment, right through to advice on good laboratory design and best practice guidance through our Microbiology Professional Scheme and Campden Laboratory Approval Scheme and more. All this combines to help you take the best next steps forward.

Improved product quality

While testing and analysis are crucial to maintaining food quality in terms of safety - a strength of ours with our UKAS accreditation and ISO 17025 accredited laboratories – it is also important to consider the sensory side to improving your product’s quality. The reason for this is because unless you can continually enhance the quality and appeal of your food products with consumers, they are less likely to remain loyal and continue buying from you.

Again, fortunately for those that choose to bundle their microbiology services through us, they can take advantage of our expert sensory and consumer service. Combining everything from consumer and sensory testing services to sensory training and innovation and insights, Campden BRI can provide everything you need to create winning products and keep moving forward.

Regulatory compliance

Beyond testing and analysis, microbiological safety is now being supplemented by microbiological specifications, guidelines and standards, and there are some pre-set microbiological criteria that are used to verify that HACCP and Good Practices are working. Subsequently, whatever stage you are at with your food testing and analysis operations, you need to be up to speed with all of this.

For those working with a partner like Campden BRI, you can call on the expertise of our regulatory experts, who can help you appreciate the differences between standards, guidelines and specifications, and can guide you on current legal requirements.

We also recognise that the structure of food and drink legislation varies significantly around the world and have the experience and expertise to help you ensure that your products are compliant with the legislative requirements of your target market.

Why bundling your microbiology services can be a game-changer for your business

In today’s increasingly fast paced and competitive marketplace, working in isolation for your microbiological services with multiple providers no longer makes good business sense.

Alternatively, by taking a more holistic approach to your challenge testing, shelf life, and consultancy requirements, you stand to gain benefits ranging from enhanced food safety, quality and regulatory compliance to time and monetary savings.

With our multidisciplinary teams at Campden BRI featuring microbiologists, food technologists, sensory analysts, and regulatory experts, you can be confident that whatever issue you need support with, our strong, reliable knowledge and expertise can deliver the results you need.

For more information about how we can help you and the value of bundling your challenge testing, shelf life, sensory analysis and consultancy requirements through Campden BRI, why not take a look at our microbiology solutions page.

How can we help you?

Worried about shelf life? Whether it’s advice you’re after or you need support with shelf-life testing, contact our support team to find out how we can help you.

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