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Real-time PCR based testing is revolutionising food safety
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Thursday, 26 March, 2026, 14 : 00 PM [IST]
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Dr Karn Pratap Singh
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We are living in an era where pollution, plastic consumption, and climate change are impacting the way we buy and consume our food. Industrial farming is rapidly changing food ecosystems across the world, making food safety a serious cause of concern. Foods like frozen products, milk, water, honey, fruits, vegetables and edible oils have been mass-produced and travel across long distances to reach our plate. These foods can cause serious hidden health risks if not tested for contamination, chemicals, improper handling, mislabelling and unhygienic production conditions that cause illnesses and fatalities in consumers.
In such a worrying scenario, the modern and advanced technologies like molecular-based food testing kits become life-saving essentials for retailers, food manufacturers and producers. These kits ensure and assure consumers that the food that reaches their plate has been tested and approved for safety.
Water
Contaminated water can pose serious health risks due to the presence of harmful and potentially deadly bacteria and viruses not visible to the naked eye. Consumers can suffer from illnesses like Cholera, Typhoid, Dysentery and Diarrhoea from the pathogens present in contaminated water. These can range from Salmonella, Coliforms, E. coli, Shigella, Vibrio cholerae, Campylobacter jejuni, Legionella, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Staphylococcus aureus and viruses such as Hepatitis A and Enterovirus. Water safety can also be affected by the mixing up of sewage in water supply pipes, industrial discharge, or agricultural runoff.
Time-consuming traditional culture-based methods that take days or weeks, previously deployed by food companies are no longer able to detect these viruses effectively and in real time. Modern technology in the form of RT-PCR-based Testing Kits is becoming a more preferred and reliable method for rapid and accurate detection of water-borne pathogens. These RT-PCR-based kits that work rapidly and give results in a few minutes or hours, are highly specific, sensitive and efficient in detecting microbial contaminants. From drinking water to groundwater and industrial water samples, these kits offer comprehensive surveillance of water quality across different environments.
Meat & Processed Foods
Meat and processed food products can get quickly contaminated due to food fraud or cross-contamination. In addition, microbial contamination from pathogens poses significant food safety concerns. These risks may be further exacerbated by lapses in hygiene, improper handling of products and temperature variations during processing, packing and storage, potentially compromising overall food safety and quality.
Species Identification and Pathogen Detection Kits - They help laboratories to confirm meat authenticity and detect microbial hazards, strengthening food safety controls across the supply chain. These PCR kits can be used across the range of ready-to-eat frozen products as well as different kinds of meat.
Soy
When present as an undeclared ingredient in processed foods, Soy can be potentially harmful for individuals with allergies or sensitivities with even trace amounts triggering severe reactions. Cross-contamination during manufacturing is the most likely cause of posing such a threat to consumers. The importance of robust allergen control and accurate detection to ensure food safety and proper labelling becomes crucial in such cases.
Allergen Detection Kits - These are today identifying even trace amounts of soy present in products, supporting accurate labelling, allergen management, and consumer safety.
Fast accurate methods such as real-time PCR based testing is revolutionising food safety in India thus facilitating high quality food products to the Indian consumers.
(The author is senior scientist - DSS Imagetech R&D Centre & subsidiary Seqlo DSS Imagetech)
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