By admin
Choosing the right food testing lab can be quite a challenging task, especially if it is your first time and you don’t know what to look for in one. Food safety is continuing to become crucial now that consumers are demanding high-quality food products. Food testing plays a crucial role in helping implement food safety. For this, you need a good food testing lab. You need a chemistry lab that can provide accurate and timely results.
With that said, let us take a look at some of the things that make a great food testing lab.
1. Accredited
One of the crucial things that make a food testing lab is accreditation. The lab needs to be ISO17025 accredited. While many food test labs are accredited, you need to look at their accreditation since many labs are only accredited for certain methods and matrices, instead of their entire portfolio.
2. Technical expertise
Another crucial thing that makes a food testing laboratory stand out is technical expertise. A good food testing lab should be staffed with only experienced and qualified professionals. You need to be keen on the technician who will run the analyses of your samples. Are they adequately trained and experienced in that method?
If should any problem arises, there should be a technical expert available to intervene and ensure that you get accurate results. The chemistry lab of your choice should also be able to help you beyond the analytical results by providing an interpretation of data as required and guidance for adequate testing.
3. The willingness to help in a crisis
Although you can do what it takes to prevent a crisis, you still need to be fully prepared if it happens. A great way to get prepared is to have a reliable lab partner during a crisis. Some of the questions you need to ask the lab to gauge their ability to help you in crisis include- can they provide the support you may need? Will that support be available at any time? Of course, you need to know in advance if the lab will provide the support you need before even a crisis attack.
4. Speed and service
The food testing lab you choose to test your samples should treat your samples with the urgency they deserve and start processing the moment they are received to reach an agreeable turnaround time. You should receive the results in a timely manner that suits your business needs. In addition to that, the lab should communicate turnaround time as well as honor it.
Customer service is also a vital feature that a good food testing lab should possess. The lab should communicate any delays, be responsive, and be supportive. Additionally, they should recommend any better testing options available to their clients to promote efficient and accurate results. They should also listen to you keenly when you are discussing your needs.
5. Confidentiality and security
Before you go ahead and issue your samples to a food testing lab, it is important for you to understand their policies regarding your personal information. How is your confidential information secured? What is their policy on sharing information? Don’t give out your details before you understand these points and are satisfied. The data breach has become very rampant these days, and that’s why it is important that you only give out your details to a lab that can safeguard them. The lab should prioritize data protection.
6. Future-focused
The food industry is dynamic, and so it keeps evolving. You need to select a food testing lab that is always ready to meet new products as well as regulatory changes required for testing and labeling. Evaluation of new methods and practices should be implemented to ensure the most efficient and accurate results.
Final thoughts
Choosing the right food testing laboratory is crucial. It is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly. You need to ensure that the laboratory has adequately trained and experienced professionals for accurate results. You also need to make sure that the food testing lab is accredited. This is the only way to ascertain that the lab is permitted to carry out food testing. Pay attention to the above-mentioned things to help you choose the right food testing lab.
