Microorganism identification and characterisation
To discuss your needs
Help to troubleshoot the source and cause of food and drink contamination issues
Identification and characterisation of microorganisms is a key part of the management of food safety and quality, tracing contaminants and troubleshooting problems such as spoilage.
Through identification, we provide the name of the organism (to genus or species level), which can help in determining whether it is a safety or spoilage concern or is likely to be heat resistant, for example. Through characterisation / typing of microorganisms, we can provide information to assist with tracking or tracing contamination, helping you match the contaminant with a strain elsewhere in the environment or in a particular food ingredient.
We also offer further information as part of the service, such as support with interpretation of results, details of possible sources of the problem organisms, and information about known food poisoning outbreaks.
As well as identification and characterisation of microorganisms, we also offer bacterial population profiling to help you to track bacterial populations from ‘factory to fridge’.
We are a world leader in microorganism identification and characterisation, applying the methods that best solve your problems.
Microbiology support
Find out more about our comprehensive microbiology support and testing services.
Key services
Bacterial and fungal population profiling
Track the microflora of your food product and how it changes
Rapid microbial identification through MALDI–ToF mass spectrometry
A fast, accurate, affordable service for species identification in food and drink
Microbiological analysis and testing
Covering pathogens, spoilage organisms, and indicator organisms
Microbiological shelf-life
Product safety, retaining sensory, microbiological and chemical characteristics.
Microbiological methods evaluation
Evaluating microbiological methods, validation and interpretation.
Heat resistance
Determine whether the process you are using will be sufficient to achieve your aims.
Detection and control of foodborne viruses
Foodborne viruses are a safety challenge for a range of foods.
COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2)
Environmental testing and prevention to help the food industry control SARS-CoV-2.
Where we refer to UKAS Accreditation
The Campden BRI group companies listed below are accredited in accordance with the recognised International Standard ISO/IEC 17025:2017 by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). The accreditation demonstrates technical competence for a defined scope of methods, specific to each site, as detailed in the schedules of accreditation bearing the testing laboratory number. The schedules may be revised from time to time and reissued by UKAS. The most recent issue of the schedules are available from the UKAS website www.ukas.com. Campden BRI (Chipping Campden) Limited is a UKAS accredited testing laboratory No. 1079