Technical perspective
Food hazards are often associated with bacteria and pathogens, but chemical hazards can enter food through soil, water, agricultural inputs, processing, storage, packaging or deliberate adulteration. These hazards require chemical and instrumental methods rather than routine microbiological culture.
The relevant analytes and limits are product-specific. A risk-based test plan should begin with the ingredient origin, regulatory standard, supplier history, process and known hazards for that commodity.
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Heavy metals can originate from multiple points in the chain
Lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury and other elements can be associated with environmental exposure, raw materials, water, processing equipment or contamination. ICP-based techniques are commonly used for multi-element measurement after appropriate sample preparation. The exact elements and limits must follow the applicable food requirement.
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Pesticide residues require targeted analytical scope
Pesticide testing is not a single universal test. The relevant compounds depend on crop, geography, agricultural practice, regulatory maximum residue limits and customer market. Multi-residue chromatographic methods can cover broad panels, but laboratories and customers still need to define the intended scope and reporting limits.
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Mycotoxins are chemical hazards produced by fungi
Mycotoxins illustrate why microbiology and chemistry must be distinguished. A food may contain a fungal toxin even when viable mould is no longer detectable, and a mould count does not quantify a specific toxin. Cereals, nuts, spices and other susceptible commodities therefore require toxin-specific risk assessment where applicable.
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Use regulation and commodity risk to select the panel
- Review current FSSAI contaminant, toxin and residue requirements for the product.
- Consider supplier region, season, historical nonconformities and raw-material processing.
- Set reporting limits low enough to support the applicable compliance decision.
- Use representative lot sampling because contamination can be heterogeneous.
- Combine chemical contaminants with microbiological and composition testing where the overall product risk requires it.
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Chemical-hazard testing for Indian food supply chains
Indian food businesses source agricultural commodities and ingredients from varied geographies and seasons, so the relevant chemical-hazard profile depends strongly on the raw material and supply chain. A pesticide panel appropriate for one crop may not answer the risk question for another product.
Mycotoxins are an important example of why microbiology and chemistry cannot be substituted for one another: a low or absent viable mould count does not quantify toxin already present in the commodity. Target analytes, reporting limits and applicable FSSAI or customer criteria should be agreed before testing.
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Apply this guidance to your product
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