Food Safety Testing Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Test (Allergen Testing, Chemical & Nutritional Testing), By Application (Meat, Poultry, & Seafood Products), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2019 - 2025

Industry Insights

The global food safety testing market size was estimated at USD 18.0 billion in 2018, growing at a CAGR of 7.7% from 2019 to 2025. A rise in the cases of chemical contamination in food processing industries owing to improper use of techniques in the production of ready-to-eat meals is likely to boost the product demand in the market over the forecast period.

Rising demand for packaged and processed food in developed and developing economies owing to factors, such as changing lifestyle and growing popularity of quick-service restaurants, is anticipated to drive the need for safety testing of edible items. Also, the rising demand for quality tests for processed and unprocessed meats is expected to drive the food safety testing market growth.

In the U.S., the chemical and nutritional testing segment accounted for 17.5% of the revenue share in 2018. The segment is expected to witness a high growth rate on account of increasing demand by consumers to gather knowledge concerning the nutritional composition of edible products and to ensure their compliance with labeling regulations and specifications by retailers.

Enhanced instrumental techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), infrared (IR) spectroscopy, ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), and mass spectroscopy are exclusively used for safety assurance. The development of advanced technologies concerning safety test procedures is expected to drive market growth over the forecast period. Factors such as lack of harmonization of food safety legislation across the globe are anticipated to hamper the overall market growth.

Food safety has often been used as a means to control trade and impose taxes and tariffs. Also, a shift in the behavior and demographics of the population across the Asia Pacific is expected to spur the consumption of packaged food, which is expected to drive the demand for the safety assessment of edible items over the forecast period. Technological improvements concerning the expansion of reliable, rapid quality, and safety check techniques such as biosensors, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and rapid culture detection are presenting new opportunities for market development. Also, the rising use of electrical biosensors in microbiological testing to reduce analysis time is likely to drive the market for safety evaluation of edible items over the forecast period.

Food Safety Testing Market Trends

Food safety testing helps in maintaining food products quality, in terms of their taste, appearance, and ingredients. Growing concerns over food safety and stringent environmental policies are increasing the need for testing, thereby generating robust demand for food safety testing. The need to avoid food contamination and decreased incidence of foodborne diseases is a major driving factors for market growth.

The growing need to implement quality measures to preserved foods, bakery foods, dried processed products, infant foods, and ready-to-eat products is fueling growth of food safety testing. Furthermore, the growing processed foods industry owing to rise in disposable incomes and changing lifestyles, and expanding food and beverage industry are enhancing focus onto food safety testing.

Various governments and food producers are taking increasing efforts to ensure the safety and quality of food products owing to health concerns, economic losses caused by foodborne diseases & presence of contaminants, and increasing awareness among consumers regarding food safety. Various governments have launched several initiatives including Good Farming Practice (GFP), Good Agricultural Practice (GAP), and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) to ensure food safety.

The pandemic COVID-19 is estimated to have a substantial impact on the food market. Food safety, food sustainability, and food security, are recognized as greatly affected elements of food systems during the pandemic. Strong shifts in consumer behavior associated to the food consumption were observed, with a greater preference for food safety and quality. These factors have further forced the manufacturers to evaluate the safety parameters of their food products, thereby positively impacting the food safety testing market.

Food regulatory infrastructure in developing countries are inadequate due to limited resources and lack of restructure of food regulatory agencies under various government ministries. Lack of co-ordination between these agencies obstruct the proper strategic development of regulatory framework for food safety. Lack of proper strategic regulation may lead to underutilization of limited resources, consequently resulting into inadequately developed compliance policies.

The focus on lowering lead time, cost of testing, sample utilization, and drawbacks coupled with numerous technologies have resulted in the development of new technologies in chromatography and spectrometry. Growing adoption of these technologies have created an opportunity for small and medium laboratories to increase their service offerings and compete with big market players in the market.

Test Insights

The microbiological testing segment emerged as a dominant segment in 2018 and accounted for 28.0% of the market revenue share. The segment is expected to gain momentum as it helps detect microorganisms in edible products with the use of chemical, biological, molecular, and biochemical methods, providing highly accurate results concerning their composition.

Microbiological tests are carried out to determine the presence of indicator microorganisms in edible products including acid-resistant micro-organisms, heat-resistant micro-organisms, and fecal contamination. These tests also determine the presence of industrial microorganisms such as Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus casei, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus.

Residues & contamination testing was the second-largest market segment both in terms of volume and revenue in 2018 on account of extensive safety and quality checks done to detect the overuse of chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides and growth in the utilization of antimicrobial drugs and additives. A rise in the demand for contamination checks for meat, poultry, and meat products is expected to drive the segment growth.

Genetically modified organism (GMO) testing segment is expected to witness the fastest growth rate, in terms of revenue, over the forecast period, primarily driven by rising awareness among consumers regarding the presence of harmful GMOs in edible products. Also, growth in the production of GMO edible products is expected to drive the demand for such safety tests to ensure optimum food quality.

Application Insights

Meat, poultry, & seafood products segment accounted for a dominant food safety testing market revenue share of over 29.6% in 2018 and the trend is expected to continue over the forecast period. Increasing consumption of meat and meat products across the globe and high risk of diseases in red meats are expected to drive the segment growth over the forecast period.

Processed food emerged as the second-largest segment, in terms of revenue, in 2018, which is anticipated to register notable gains owing to the growing demand for packaged products such as frozen meals, snacks, ready-to-eat convenient products, and cake mixes. Besides, the high shelf life of processed products leads to the enforcement of stringent regulations related to such products.

The Dairy & dairy products segment is expected to record a high growth rate in the market over the forecast period on account of some instances of contamination during the production process. Besides, the demand for safety tests conducted for the segment is expected to rise on account of stringent regulations in place concerning standard milk composition.

Manufacturers in the market are focusing on catering to the growing requirements of the customer to ensure quality and longer shelf life of beverages including soft drinks, energy drinks, and fruit juices. Besides, growth in the use of preservatives and concentrates in milk and milk products is expected to result in increased safety testing procedures, which, in turn, is expected to drive the market.

Regional Insights

Europe accounted for the highest market share of 35.3% in terms of revenue in 2018. The food and beverage industry is a major contributor to the Europe’s economy. The industry maintains the characteristics of a stable, resilient and robust sector. Increasing focus of product manufacturers to maintain the safety of food products is expected to drive the market growth over the forecast period.

Germany food safety testing systems market accounted for the largest share in Europe in 2018 and is expected to continue the trend over the forecast period. The market is expected to witness an increased demand for microbiological testing, followed by chemical & residues contamination testing, in order to take precautionary measures against the foodborne disease outbreaks and to avoid consumption of drug residues and heavy metals which are harmful for human consumption.

Asia Pacific food safety testing market is expected to witness fastest demand, owing to the huge growth of food sector in developing economies, coupled with rising need to establish stringent regulations regarding food safety to tackle various food scandals and contamination issues. Various governments in the region are focusing on precautionary measures to control the outbreaks of foodborne diseases.

Food contamination is a serious issue in India, due to undetected pathogen activity. The country has witnessed rise in number of incidents of foodborne disease outbreaks in children. Farmers in India use various fertilizers and pesticides to meet the rising demand, the use of which is not properly regulated. As a result, the residues of agro-chemicals used to grow the produce as well as veterinary drugs or antibiotics used in animal farming are frequently found in the final product, and thus the residues enter the food chain. Hence, food safety testing is essential in order to avoid the consumption of harmful residues in the food products.

Food Safety Testing Market Share Insights

The global market is highly consolidated and dominated by major players including SGS S.A.; Eurofins Scientific; Intertek Group plc; Bureau Veritas S.A.; ALS Ltd.; Mérieux NutriSciences; and AsureQuality Ltd. Major players control close to 50% of the market share. Processing companies are increasing their investments to ensure a higher quality of edible items.

SGS S.A. holds the largest share in the global market on account of the increasing focus of the company on the expansion of its product portfolio through R&D and acquisition strategies. The market for food safety testing is also marked by the presence of numerous smaller players providing specialized services to the food sector across the value chain.

Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at the global, regional, and country-level and provides an analysis of the industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2014 to 2025. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global food safety testing market report based on the test, application, and region:

• Test Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Allergen Testing

  • Chemical & Nutritional Testing

  • Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) Testing

  • Microbiological Testing

  • Residues & Contamination Testing

  • Others

• Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Meat, Poultry, & Seafood Products

  • Dairy & Dairy Products

  • Processed Food

  • Beverages

  • Cereals & Grains

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • North America

    • The U.S.

    • Canada

    • Mexico

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • U.K.

    • France

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • Japan

    • India

  • Central & South America

    • Brazil

  • Middle East & Africa

    • South Africa