INDUSTRY
Baby food testing that delivers peace of mind
Babies and young children deserve the highest quality baby food available, and lawmakers recognise that special precautions must be taken to ensure their safety due to their low body weight and increased sensitivity. Analytical baby food testing by BNP will ensure that these stringent regulations will be met. Toxic residues that may result from cultivation or production must be reduced considerably more in baby food products than for other food products. Government regulations and dietary regulations define specific nutritional requirements and limits for contaminants that are far below conventional ones. Organically grown food will often be used for this consumer group, especially...
Fats and oils testing ensures quality
Cooking oils and fats come in a huge variety of flavours, types and blends. Consumers and food service establishments demand options such as cold-pressed, refined, virgin, extra virgin and other varieties to meet different nutritional requirements, diets and cuisines. Food producers need to ensure that their oils and fats are thoroughly tested and analysed in order to fully disclose information about their contents, quality and purity to their customers. How BNP can help BNP offers fat and oil testing in multiple locations around the world. Our scientists, researchers and staff are extremely knowledgeable about the composition, characteristics and regulations for oils and fats. ...
Fresh fruit and vegetable testing
Fruits and vegetables must undergo testing to address safety issues and to ensure optimal taste. Not only do consumers demand it, but maximum pesticide residue limits in food are also strictly regulated by government regulations in many countries. Consumer awareness and concern about pesticides has increased during recent years and has led to strict analysis and control of all foods, particularly of fruits and vegetables. Produce should be controlled at a very early stage of the supply chain in order to provide consumers with products of the highest freshness. Ideally, the results of the analyses should be available prior to the...
Grain testing ensures safe and high-quality crops
Grains are one of the primary food sources for people and animals. Hardly any other industrial sector operates as globally as the grain industry. Worldwide trade and regional trade are both equally important in the daily grain industry. Global trade channels, accurate interpretation of national and international regulations, and ever-changing consumer demands continually present new challenges to grain producers. Our grain testing services BNP offers an extensive range of testing services. You can choose the components you require to ensure the safety and quality of your products from the complete portfolio of BNP' international network. Our experts will assist you on the...
Meat testing
Our services include testing or detection of meat species, veterinary drugs, organic and inorganic contaminants, organic residues, general microbes and pathogenic germs. Relevant products Beef Pork Lamb Goat Horse Turkey Duck Chicken
Nuts and Dried Fruit Testing by the experts
Dried fruits and nuts are produced and processed in many different countries. Recently, more and more exotic fruit-such as Goji berries-are making their way into the market. As typical agricultural products, dried fruits and nuts contain a variety of contaminants and harmful substances. Production, processing, transport and storage may result in contamination by pesticide residues, heavy metals, mycotoxins, or pest infestation. At the same time quality assessment, sensory analysis and the product quality class separation demand extensive experience and merchandise knowledge. Government regulations-such as the ones for pesticides, mycotoxins and SO2-require regular controls. Import controls on some contaminants and goods from certain...
Services
Allergen Testing that you can trust
Food allergies have increased at an unprecedented rate during recent years. According to industry experts, food-related allergic reactions increased during the past years. Some of these reactions have a significant impact on quality of life or can lead to life-threatening anaphylactic shock within minutes. Food intolerances such as lactose intolerance, gluten intolerance and celiac disease are also on the rise, with the latter being the most common genetic disease in Europe. People with food allergies or intolerances must adhere to strict avoidance of their allergens or foods that cause reactions, so food manufacturers must provide detailed information about the contents, additives and...
Audit and Certification
Your food product's quality, safety, and integrity are essential to your brand's reputation and success in the market. As regulatory and consumer requirements constantly evolve and become increasingly demanding and complex, offering assurance to consumers that your food meets the highest standards is of the utmost importance. Eurofins Food Assurance's teams of qualified experts offer audits to ensure you comply with internationally recognised food safety standards and the current market requirements according to GFSI. This enables you to pass on the safest, most cost-effective food products to your customers. We can assist you in choosing the most appropriate food safety certification programme for your needs, ensuring you meet the increasingly stringent food safety standards. Our...
Authenticity testing by the experts
Relevant products fruit juice and derived products: detection of addition of sugar, water, colourings, aromas or other undeclared additives, determination of fruit content; geographical origin check wines, ciders: detection of chaptalisation, sugaring, dilution or addition of glycerol, checking the process used in sparkling products, conformity to the isotopic profile; geographical origin check spirits, beers: control of the botanical origin of the alcohol, detection of addition of water, sugars or flavours (according to current regulations and/or product specifications); honey, maple syrup, agave syrup: detection of addition of sugar or other undeclared additives, mislabeling, geographical origin check flavours: checking whether a flavour is natural from X (vanilla,...
Carbohydrates Testing
Our extensive range of carbohydrate and dietary fibre tests deliver quick and accurate quality analyses for food products, as well as industrially prepared ingredients, foodstuffs, animal feed, pet food and supplements. Besides accurate testing results, outsourcing your in-house testing activities will allow you to save time and money. To select the test that adheres to your needs, we have divided our carbohydrate testing portfolio in the following three groups: Routine carbohydrate testing Our routine carbohydrate testing portfolio includes the basic carbohydrates like monosaccharides, disaccharides, various oligosaccharides, alditols (sugar alcohols) and starches. Our routine research services provide accurate test results with reliable turnaround times. Dietary...
Consulting & Labelling
You may require a variety of levels of assistance and advice to meet your business needs and local food safety requirements. BNP laboratories can meet these requirements by providing on-demand expertise through consulting, advisory, and membership services. Our membership schemes offer global organisations access to consultations and labelling services worldwide. Through our consultation services, we provide labelling assistance, ensuring product transparency. This helps build trust with consumers and solidify your brand's integrity. Our goal is to support companies to comply with the GFSI and other international food safety standards, ensuring their products meet food safety, quality and integrity most stringent requirements.
Dioxins and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
BNP' very strong position in testing dioxins and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs ) enables the Group to offer its clients a unique combination of advantages: Exceptionally high sensitivity and precision, safer data and higher quality due to huge investment in R&D over the last decade and very experienced staff. Cost-effective expertise in dioxin and POP testing due to the highest throughput in Europe and the resulting economies of scale. Ability to guarantee rapid analysis time of less than 5 days. BNP analyses around 15,000 dioxin samples per year including PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and believes that it is the world market leader in this area. Regulation Advisory...
Irradiation testing for correct labelling you can trust
Irradiation of food and supplements is used in more than 60 countries to prolong stability and extend shelf lives. Approximately 500,000 tons of food products are irradiated worldwide each year, particularly herbs and spices. Irradiation is applied on food for the following reasons: to kill microorganisms in herbs and spices to prevent sprouting and germination of potatoes, onions and garlic to kill or sterilize insects in cereals, dried fruit, nuts and vegetables to defer maturing and ripening in fruit and vegetables to prolong the date-of-expiry by killing microorganisms in meat and fish Irradiated food must follow strict labeling guidelines, which vary...
Food Labelling Services
BNP Food Assurance companies' experts offer a com plete suite of Food labelling services to fulfill food labelling requirements and support customers to comply with regulations in countries of destination, ensuring global market access to import and export food both locally and globally. We also offer RUSH SERVICES to our customers. Our knowledgeable food safety consultants will give you peace of mind by the expert review of your products for: ALLERGEN LABELLING Allergen statements are required on every food product label. We check that allergens are properly displayed according to local regulations. FOOD LABEL TRANSLATION & LEGAL COMPLIANCE Entering new markets with a new food product requires to comply with local...
Heavy metal and element testing – fast and efficient
Arsenic and other heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, and mercury are all considered toxic and have adverse health effects in human metabolism. Accumulation of heavy metals in the food chain can occur by bio-concentration e.g. from water or the food source. Main intake sources of heavy metals are fish and seafood, fruits and vegetables, nuts and cereals. In the case of lead, drinking water is also of major importance. Since the toxicological effects of heavy metals and arsenic on babies and infants are of special relevance, the safety of baby food is also in the spotlight. Toxicology Lead has a very...
Melamine
Melamine is a widely-used intermediate, mainly employed as a raw material for producing melamine resin and is a chemical most often found in plastic materials. Long-term or mass intake of melamine has toxic effects and may lead to reproductive damage or bladder or kidney stones, which can also lead to bladder cancer. Melamine was initially found in food stuffs exported to the USA in early 2007 contained in contaminated wheat gluten and rice protein and had resulted in the death of several pet dogs and cats. Thereafter, this contamination was found in many other products that use protein content as an important quality indicator. More recently...
Microbiology
Our microbiological testing portfolio includes analytical services to detect pathogenic microbes and their toxins (such as Salmonellae, Listeriae, Legionella) or organisms causing decay (such as yeasts, fungi or moulds), to provide hygiene checks (e.g. site inspections but also sterility tests in packaging materials, measurement of airborne microbes) with the aim of making foods and other products such as cosmetics safer for our clients, meeting statutory requirements and protecting the consumer. BNP offers both classical methods and modern methods (e.g. PCR methods) for rapid microbiological results. BNP can advise you based on the matrices at question which tests/methods can be used reliably. BNP...
Molecular Biology & Immunology
Molecular-biological and immunological methods are becoming increasingly important in food and feed analysis. Using the most modern equipment and reliable methods, BNP' highly trained staff is able to determine the content and quality of many food and feed matrices, even extremely difficult ones. Molecular analysis PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction): This method amplifies the DNA sequences specific to the analysis being performed e.g. genetic modifications of the DNA or DNA sequences specific to a particular animal species. If the result is positive the products can be made visible under ultraviolet (UV) light. For determining animal species (even in highly-processed foods) we have several methods at our disposal...
Mycotoxins
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that roughly 25 percent of the world's food production contains mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of moulds, which already have toxic effects on vertebrates in the smallest quantities. Depending on specific substances and concentration, they are cancerogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic and immunosuppressive. The main source for mycotoxins entering the food chain are cereals, but many other food items such as fruits and nuts may be contaminated with mycotoxins as well. Out of the approximately 400 known species of mycotoxins, which belong to very different chemical compound classes, about 25 are counted as being...
Nutritional Testing provides confidence
Nutritional products are more widely available than ever before, but consumers want to know exactly what is in the products that they are ingesting. Sports nutrition products, meal replacement drinks, medical formulas, vitamins, minerals and natural food supplements make up a huge market for a demanding audience. Nutritional testing can help manufacturers ensure that their products contain the right amount of amino acids, fatty acids, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, anti-nutrients, enzymes and other critical ingredients. How BNP can help Local regulations in each country have been established to standardize nutrition information found on all food products, and to require foods baring nutrient content or...
Organic contaminants testing will ensure the safety of your products
Organic contaminants are undesirable, harmful substances, which are found at trace level in foodstuffs. They are not present in food due to a deliberate action, but find their way into it through contact with air, water or soil, enter it during the manufacturing process or are generated during manufacturing as process contaminants (e.g. acrylamide or 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD)). Food producers need to ensure that their products are toxicologically safe and in compliance with all legal requirements through the use of analytical testing. How BNP can help We offer to examine a large number of organic contaminants of anthropogenic origin, process contaminants and migration residues,...
Pesticides
BNP operates several pesticide testing laboratories within its global network in addition to the Group's Competence Centre, BNP Dr. Specht Laboratories in Hamburg. This laboratory has a long standing history in pesticide testing and in fact was the inventor of the multi-residue method S19 that later became the official European enforcement method. Our Offer for pesticide testing Performance of pesticide residue analyses Recommendation of analysis scopes Performance of express analytics (12, 24, 48 hour-testing) Performance of GLP studies (in the context of pesticide's registration) Help desk regulatory framework (regulations and maximum residue limits) Consultancy in product safety Pesticide analysis for GMP studies (Ph. Eur....
BNP Sensory and Consumer Research
BNP Sensory and Consumer Research offers multi-country sensory and consumer market research studies for the food and beverage, cosmetics, homecare, healthcare and OTC-pharma and durables industries, helping R&D and Marketing teams to uncover how consumers value their existing and future products, brands, and packaging. Powerful Solutions Our market researchers, statisticians and sensory scientists develop and execute studies using sensory and consumer sciences and the most advanced research techniques, to identify opportunities to increase competitive edge through the enhancement of product performance and positioning strategy. Food, beverage, cosmetics, home care, and healthcare and over the counter (OTC) medication dedicated experts to make your consumers...
Global Food Assurance Services
Ensure your food products' quality, safety, and integrity by implementing robust and effective food labelling and auditing management systems and processes. BNP expert food safety auditors offer strategic evaluations specifically designed to address and resolve industry challenges companies maybe be facing and inform unbiased business decisions following the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). Our global network of food assurance experts provides safety training and consulting services, including food label reviews, explicitly designed to meet the customer's specific requirements. These services enable food manufacturers and retailers to refine their processes and guarantee compliance with relevant international food safety standards.
Veterinary Drug Residues
Veterinary drugs residues are used within animal husbandry to cure and prevent diseases, and also to increase weight gain and tranquilise during transportation. Veterinary drugs are a complex group of substances with a couple of hundred actives belonging to different chemical classes and therapeutic areas, e.g. antibiotics, antiparasitics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as phenylbutazone, hormones and, beta-agonists. BNP offers the most comprehensive range of screening methods from single substance testing to risk-orientated multi-class testing for the full range of veterinary drug residues in trace amounts. The BNP Competence Centre for Veterinary Residue Testing in Hamburg (BNP WEJ Contaminants) is one of the...
Vitamins
BNP tests many matrices for the quantity and quality of vitamins. The vitamin centre employs an international team of highly experienced chemists, microbiologists and laboratory technicians and applies state-of-the-art equipment and IT tools for management and communication. In the USA, our vitamin centre is based in a new building in Des Moines. This centre is custom-built to combine an efficient process flow with analytical excellence. Concentrating all vitamin testing in one location per continent enables BNP to provide customers with reliable results based on internationally recognised reference methods at very attractive turn-around times and competitive prices. In addition to standard tests we offer - on our customers' request...