The microbiological safety of food is of major importance to the food industry and the consumer. All food stuffs including dairy products, prepared meals, meats, vegetables, herbs and spices have a potential microbiological hazard associated with them. Many laboratories use traditional microbiological techniques such as the use of selective broths and agar plates to isolate and identify the bacteria and moulds which may cause food poisoning or spoilage. However these techniques are slow, require a great deal of skill and are usually performed by a qualified microbiologist.

With the increased workload and pressures on the food industry to comply with legislation and to implement and follow HACCP procedures, laboratories are looking for easier, faster, more reliable methods of analysis.

RBR have various test kits which include the LOCATE ELISAs for the detection of Salmonella and Listeria. The company also distributes a combination of hygiene monitoring and microbiological products called RIDA®COUNT. These are a range of novel microbial test sheets with numerous applications for example as a contact test for checking surfaces, for swabbing, for direct incubation of filters and for routine analysis of foods. RIDA®COUNT tests are available for TVC's, coliforms, yeast and mould, Salmonella and Staph.aureus.