Microbiology, Heavy Metal and Aflotoxin Analysis in Food Supplements: Safety and Quality Control

What are the Tests Performed on Food Supplements?

Food supplements are products used to fill nutritional deficiencies or to promote health. However, the safety and efficacy of such products depends on the presence of harmful ingredients such as microbiological contamination, heavy metals and aflatoxins.

What are Food Supplements?

Within the scope of the “Turkish Food Codex Communiqué on Supplementary Foods”, “Supplementary Foods” are substances of plant, herbal and animal origin that contain nutritional elements such as vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, fiber, fatty acids, amino acids or other nutritional or physiological effects in order to supplement normal nutrition, It is defined as products that are prepared in capsules, tablets, lozenges, disposable powder packets, liquid ampoules, dropper bottles and other similar liquid or powder forms of concentrates or extracts of bioactive substances and similar substances alone or in mixtures and whose daily intake dose is determined.

Today, the consumption of dietary supplements has increased. Food supplements produced and offered for sale in accordance with the relevant regulation must pass parameters such as microbiology, heavy metal and toxicological tests.

Microbiological Tests

Non-sterile food supplements can be contaminated with microorganisms at many stages such as harvesting, processing, packaging, storage, transportation in herbal medicines. Causes of contamination in general;

Plant fertilizer
Contaminated irrigation water
Worker hygiene and sanitation failures

The tests include total aerobic bacteria count, total yeast and mold count, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium count.

Heavy Metal Test

Heavy metals such as Lead, Cadmium and Mercury are the most analyzed contaminants in food supplements. Heavy metals in food supplements can have serious consequences for human health.

Aflotoxin Analysis

Aflatoxins are a group of toxic secondary metabolites produced mainly by the fungi Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus and A. nomius, which are ubiquitous in nature and have adverse effects on human health.

Aflatoxin analysis is also performed in food supplements: Total Aflatoxin, Aflatoxin B1

Nano-lab Laboratories Group continues to provide services within the scope of Microbiology, Heavy Metal and Aflotoxin Analysis in Food Supplements. We also provide services in Vitamin Analysis.

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