South Africa food safety testing market overview:
The South Africa food safety testing market size was valued at $65,727 thousand in 2017, and is estimated to reach $145,995 thousand by 2025, registering a CAGR of 10.4% during the South Africa food safety testing market forecast, i.e., from 2018 to 2025. Food safety testing refers to the inspection of food products for disease-causing organisms, chemicals, and other hazardous materials. Food safety testing is generally targeted at three primary food contaminants namely, pathogens, chemicals, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Food fraud is committed when food is deliberately altered for financial gains with the intention of deceiving consumers. The food standards agency (FSA) specifies two main types of food frauds namely, sale of food that is unfit and potentially harmful and deliberate mis-description of food.
Implementation of various regulations on food safety drives the South Africa food safety testing market growth. Recycling of animal by-products, sale of goods past their use by date, inclusion of harmful ingredients, and unsafe food handling processes are some of the major food fraud activities. The consumption of contaminated food, including toxic chemicals and radioactive materials, results in foodborne illness, which may further lead to death. The implementation of stringent regulations by many leading food safety organizations, such as The Department of Agriculture, The Department of Health and The Department of Trade & Industry, to prevent ill health of consumers and food fraud is expected to drive the growth of the South Africa food safety testing industry.
In addition, rise in economically motivated adulterations (EMAs), owing to high competition among food producers, and increase in instances of food debasement, such as adulterations, pesticides, artificial taste enhancers, and certifications, boosts the growth of the South Africa food safety testing market. However, complexity in testing techniques, and lack of harmonization of regulations are anticipated to hamper the growth of the South Africa food safety testing market.
Food supply is under constant threat of contaminations, and this generates a demand for effective test products that ensure food safety. Microbial pathogens, such as bacteria, viruses, environmental toxins, and adulterants, residues of drugs, and agricultural chemicals, are hazardous to human beings, if consumed unchecked. Pathogen testing is still the most dominant segment of South Africa food safety testing market. Increase in application of pesticides in agriculture and high application preservatives has been generating demand for the chemical & toxin testing segment, followed by the genetically modified organism (GMO) segment. South Africa soya imports are more than its exports, about 30% of the soya available in the country is GMO. The first South African legislation passed regarding the biotechnology industry is the Genetically Modified Organisms Act 15 of 1997.
The South Africa food safety testing market by food tested is categorized into meat & meat product, dairy & dairy product, cereal, grain, & pulse, processed food, and other ingredients. A zoonosis is an infectious disease that can be transmitted between vertebrate animals and humans. Zoonosis infections are commonly associated with the consumption of milk and milk products are tuberculosis, brucellosis, leptospirosis, salmonellosis, and listeriosis. However, Meat & meat products and processed food segments are the most dominant segment in this market. Meat & meat products and processed food products are often processed with various types of artificial ingredients to increase the shelf life as they are highly prone to bacterial growth. This generates high demand for food safety testing for detecting harmful chemicals & toxins as well as pathogens.
Rise in consumer demand for fresh and appropriate forms of food products has led to the advancement of food safety practices in the food industry. However, high occurrence of outbreaks of foodborne diseases in several regions, has resulted in increasing concern and intensive investigation of foodborne pathogens. As a result, there is currently an increased demand for the microbiological testing of food products. The purpose of a microbiological testing is to identify and restrict growth of harmful microorganisms, which can lead to spoilage of foods, and thus, ensure safety from foodborne diseases. In this report, the South Africa food safety testing market by technology has been segmented into agar culturing, PCR-based assay, immunoassay-based, Scintillation counters & Geiger counters, AAS & ICP-MS/OES and others. Agar culturing is one of the traditional processes to test pathogens. However, currently, PCR-based assay and immunoassay-based methods are more accepted than traditional methods, as ongoing developments have discovered that traditional methods are not suitable for all food products.
By region, the South Africa food safety testing market has been analyzed across Gauteng, Western Cape, Northern Cape, Mpumalanga, and Rest of South Africa. Gauteng is the leading market for food safety testing in South Africa. The recent Listeria outbreak, which claimed over 180 lives, has been a major eye opener for South Africans and has resulted in consumers not just questioning food safety standards, but insisting on a zero-tolerance approach to bacterial contamination and exposure.
Some of the major players analyzed in this report are ALS Limited, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Bureau Veritas, Deltamune, DNV GL AS (DNV), Eurofins Scientific S.E., Intertek Group plc., QIMA Limited, SGS SA (SGS), and TUV SUD.
Key Benefits forSouth Africa food safety testing market:
- The report provides an extensive analysis of the current and emerging market trends and opportunities in the South Africa food safety testing industry.
- The report provides detailed qualitative and quantitative analysis of the current trends and future estimations that help evaluate the prevailing South Africa food safety testing market opportunity.
- A comprehensive analysis of the factors that drive and restrict the growth of the market is provided.
- South Africa food safety testing market analysis has been conducted by following key product positioning and monitoring the top competitors within the market framework.
- The report provides extensive qualitative insights on the potential and niche segments or regions exhibiting favorable growth.
South Africa Food Safety Testing Market Report Highlights
| Aspects | Details |
 By Contaminant |
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 By Food Tested |
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 By Technology |
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 By Region |
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 Key Market Players | QIMA Limited, Bureau Veritas, Eurofins Scientific S.E., TUV SUD, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Deltamune, Intertek Group plc, SGS SA (SGS), DNV GL AS (DNV), ALS Limited |
Analyst Review
Food fraud has been a major concern in the food industry since decades; for instance, the adulteration of imported tea with iron filings in the nineteenth century. At present, meat adulteration, availability of alternative species of fish, use of chemicals such as formalin in meat & fish products, and others are prevalent in the market. As detection of food fraud is difficult, it is necessary to develop advanced analytical techniques, such as molecular biology; isotopic analysis; and a range of classic physical, chemical, and biological methods to test food safety and detect noncompliance in food products.
Economically motivated adulteration (EMA) has rapidly increased in the market, which is a major health threat for consumers. Meat and processed food product segments are expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period.
Outbreak of listeriosis, a serious foodborne disease, especially in Gauteng, Western Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal provinces have significantly affected the countries, and therefore food safety authorities are taking necessary measures to check such outbreaks in future.
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