Challenge Study Test

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is a vital tool for food industry in order to establish food safety. The process of challenge testing involves inoculating a particular risk microorganism in known concentration into a food product to assess for any growth that may occur during production, distribution, processing, storage or handling by consumers. The inoculated food product is then stored and tested. This process serves as the ultimate evidence of the safety and microbiological stability of food.

Eurofins is one of the leading service providers in challenge studies. We offer expert advice and guidance on challenge testing, shelf-life determination.

Why Challenge Testing?

Challenge testing helps in determining the ability of food to support growth of spoilage organisms.
This process provides validation in case of lethal effects against a target organism. For this purpose, process must deliver an associated performance standard. Let's say for example, 5 log reduction of Escherichia coli 157:H7 for fermented meats.
It helps in assessment of whether specific process employed for a food product is in compliance with the predetermined performance standard.
Knowledge of the food formulation and history of the food for any known illness outbreaks is crucial while selecting challenge pathogens.

Eurofins Offers Challenge Testing for a Wide Range of Food Groups, Including -

Processed food
Thermally processed foods
Packaged Drinking water
Animal feed
Meat, fish and Poultry products
Herbs, Spices and condiments
Fruit and fruit products
Cosmetics
Food ingredients/additives
Packaging materials

Eurofins Offer Challenge Testing Services for Broad Spectrum of Pathogens. Some of them are listed below -

Listeria monocytogenes
Salmonella
Legionella pneumophila
Escherichia coli O157
Vibrio spp.
Clostridium perfringens
Bacillus cereus
Enterobacter species
Campylobacter
Enterotoxins
Staphylococcus aureus

Our Food Testing Capabilities

Eurofins provides customized challenge studies based on the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) guidelines.
Challenge studies can be designed for evaluating the efficacy of food preservatives, additives, spices etc
Each challenge study is unique as each product prepared and processing techniques used are different. Challenge studies mainly aim to determine/prove thermal death time (TDT) of a pathogen by testing for that pathogen of interest, such as; Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium sps, and also many more emerging pathogens.
we also offer broad range of testing services for spoilage organisms such as yeast, Mold, lactic acid bacteria, and more to determine the stability of a food product.
Eurofins can also further customize these challenge studies with specific organisms according to clients interest and respective product, process, and formulation goals.

Information Delivered by Challenge Testing – Eurofins

Determination of food product’s safety and stability during storage
Tests to establish a product’s shelf life
Support in product formulation in terms of intrinsic control factors like pH and water activity
We can deliver accurate information related to microbial survival rates and microbial inactivation kinetics
We adopted product optimisation processes in our protocol and verify efficacy, safety, quality, stability, sensory and nutritional attributes of foods and food products