One of the saddest things that one hears from consumer groups is complaints that food processors do not do enough sampling. This was one of the early issues when the U.S. food industry adopted HACCP. Many people did not grasp the concept of process control; or in other words, building quality and safety into the process. A company cannot test safety or quality into a product. It must be part of their process. This applies to microbiological concerns, quality parameters and sensory issues.
Much of the microbiological and quality testing done by the food industry is conducted to meet customer demands. This is especially true with products that are deemed high risk. Examples of such products are meat, dairy and almost any product containing protein, plus any product that does not incorporate a kill step in the process. More buyers are demanding that processors provide them with a Certificate of Analysis (COA). The COA will usually include microbiological results, chemical tests, physical tests and even sensory.