Food and nutritional companies have a great responsibility as they transact more and more complex products, and therefore need to establish and maintain quality standards. Any incident where the quality of products may have been compromised could have financial and reputational consequences that can be associated with product recalls, product replacement, liability lawsuits, government action, and more.
 
What may be the greatest risk, is damage to a company’s brand image among consumers and other stakeholders, leading to a loss of trust. That’s why having appropriate quality control measures in a company is vital and essential to any food business.
 
Quality Control Necessitates an Effective Testing Strategy
Quality control, in the food, dietary supplement, or pharmaceutical industry all have one common goal or purpose: to ensure that manufacturers are producing a quality product. In order to do that, you must confirm certain quality specifications in qualified laboratory settings.
 
Quality analysis requires well trained personnel, expensive equipment, laboratory space, and all of the accessories (including kits, consumables, re-agents and solutions, standards, testing materials, glassware, and disposables). In microbiology, labs costs are high due to the need of sterile, single-use materials which generate a significant amount of laboratory waste. An environmentally conscious laboratory striving to reduce waste must remain sensitive to the amount of single-use plastics waste and determine ways to reduce their use.
 
Quality control strategies begin with test methods and protocols that increase laboratory efficiency and reduce waste, sometimes resulting in lower overall costs. Repeated microbiology tests using multiple enrichment media, variable incubation times and temperatures, and use of test kits and equipment, can result in increased labor costs and wasted tangible assets. Controlling all of these variables in microbiology testing can be a significant challenge. 
 
Pathogen testing in foods is essential for consumer products. Eliminating these tests is not an option. And, while pathogen requirements differ depending on the market, most food products are often tested for these bacterial pathogens: Salmonella, E. coli, and Staphylococcus aureus. A testing strategy that can produce accurate results simultaneously and rapidly is a huge benefit, as it can help reduce costs through reduced waste and time.
 
A Case Study: New Assay Helps Reduce Cost of Pathogen Testing and Lab Waste While Improving Accuracy, Specificity
Herbalife Nutrition and Invisible Sentinel, in conjunction with bioMerieux, Inc. and FoodChek Systems, developed and validated an RT-PCR assay for the detection of these three organisms. We created a multiplex assay using a single medium, enrichment time and temperature, platform, and kit. This approach reduced the cost of kits and consumables, plasticware, disposables, and media. It also reduced the hands-on time of the responsible analyst by combining three tests into one. The RT-PCR assay also reduced the amount of equipment needed by replacing multiple large-format tests with a single small-format molecular assay. This can reduce maintenance costs and plastic waste associated with equipment use and calibration testing.
 
The study found that savings from this method are significant. 
 

• Cost savings analysis from July through September 2021, when compared to the previous two-year average, estimates an annual savings of 25% in test costs. The total cost savings is estimated to be approximately $100k per year per site in material savings, and an additional $15k per year per site in equipment expense costs.  

• Conventional methods require extensive confirmation efforts if presumptive positive results are triggered. The NutraPlex Pro RT-PCR method is highly specific and produces fewer false positives, further reducing additional tests and costs. Plastic waste can be potentially reduced by up to 1 metric ton per year, which is fitting for green initiatives and conservation plans. Plastic waste specifically for pathogen testing was reduced by 94% or 1 metric ton per annum. 

• It is estimated that 40 minutes per day per analyst can be saved, as demonstrated by the difference in time taken per sample from June 2021 compared to July through September 2021. 

 
Quality Control: Looking Ahead
It is reasonable to assume that with additional testing experience and further optimization of the Nutraplex Pro RT-PCR method, additional cost savings and time savings can be realized. Initial data suggests that having a distinct resource available to implement this kind of strategy proves not only effective but is efficient. The savings opportunities can only be properly documented if food companies take action to implement this test procedure, creating a safer and trusted product.