Driven by the continuous rise in product recalls due to contamination by bacteria and other microorganisms, increased awareness and the implementation of new regulatory specifications, the global market for food-safety testing is projected to reach $19.7 billion by 2018, according to a new report from Global Industry Analysts (GIA).
According to the “Food Safety Testing—A Global Strategic Business Report," the United States represents the largest regional market worldwide. Expansion and diversification of the U.S. food testing market can be attributed to extensive media reports covering product recalls and illness and death resulting from contaminated foods. In order to address the risks posed by global food supply, food processors demand comprehensive testing procedures to improve and develop newer and sophisticated processing, preservation and packaging techniques to make food safer and less perishable.
Federal regulations are also forcing food processors to test food products for hazardous material or microorganisms. Asia-Pacific represents the fastest-growing market for food-safety testing in the world. The region suffers due to lack of adequate regulations for ensuring food safety, and the lax implementation of such regulations, particularly in highly populous countries of India and China.
Pathogen testing segment garners a lion’s share of the food-safety testing market. GMO testing represents the fastest-growing segment in the global food-safety testing market. In terms of end-use segments, processed foods industry represents the largest end use market for food-safety testing products. The United States represents the largest regional market for food-safety testing products in processed foods industry. Fastest growth is expected from the meat industry, which has witnessed growing demand for testing products with innovative biochip and microchip technologies, owing to their ability to detect the presence of new pathogen varieties in food particles.
Major players profiled in the report include 3M Company, BioControl Systems, Inc., bioMérieux SA, Biolog, Inc., Celsis International Ltd., Charm Sciences, Inc., DuPont Qualicon, Inc., FOSS A/S, Eurofins GeneScan Europe AG, Genetic ID NA, Inc., Neogen Corp., R-Biopharm AG, SDIX, and Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.
