Next generation analytical techniques for supply chain resilience

A new member-funded research project illustrates the work we do to support resilience in the food and drink industry supply chain.

Over recent years there have been significant advances in analytical techniques to provide more rapid results with greater sensitivity, thus supporting the detection of emerging food safety risks.This project will provide the opportunity to assess the use of these next generation techniques to assist in ensuring product quality and safety from both chemical and microbiological perspectives.

The inbuilt flexibility within the project will allow the provision of timely responses to emerging issues that may occur during the project's 3-year period. This would allow the multidisciplinary team to collate and disseminate important information as well as developing and validating new methods where necessary. Previous projects in this field have enabled the introduction of additional services to our analytical portfolio, including detection of STEC (Shiga toxinproducing E.coli) in sprouted seeds, detection of food borne viruses, and improved taint analysis.

Related research has also looked at rapid and cost–effective ways of ensuring the authenticity of foods and drinks and detecting potential adulteration.