Contaminant analysis and identification

If you suspect you have a contaminant issue, whether it is a foreign body, pathogen, environmental contaminant or adventitious chemical, then you want to know what the contaminant is, how much of it there is, whether it is a major problem, and how it got there. Contaminant analysis and identification is a major part of our business; we can harness the power of sophisticated analytical equipment and the expertise of many technical specialists.

Contaminants can be chemical, microbiological or physical

Chemical contaminants can range from heavy metals, trace elements, and mycotoxins, through processing contaminants such as acrylamide, to adulterants such as melamine and Sudan dyes. Some are naturally occurring, some occur by mistake, and some are deliberately added by unscrupulous fraudsters. Each has its own unique set of circumstances that leads to its presence in food. In some cases, low levels are inevitable, but processing conditions must be controlled to prevent unacceptably high levels occurring.

Microbiological contaminants fall into two broad categories: pathogens and spoilage organisms. Although they require a very different set of analytical skills to those used in chemical analysis, the questions that need to be answered are often very similar. What is the organism, are the levels of concern, and how did it get there? With microorganisms, there is usually the extra question of how quickly will numbers increase? This will require an understanding of how the organism reacts with its environment, i.e. the food in which it is present.

Physical contaminants range from insects, bits of stem or root, and plastics, to hair, glass, fragments of metals, and even pharmaceutical tablets. Glass, and things that look like glass, are a major concern to consumers.We have an extensive database of glass types, so that we can determine what type of glass it is and, by inference, where it came from, and whether the manufacturer has a problem that needs to be solved. And as for that fly in the soup - we should be able to tell you when during the journey from raw ingredient to finished product on the consumer´s table it entered the soup!

Contact our support team if you have a problem:
+44(0)1737 842291
support@campdenbri.co.uk