Recent Salmonella recalls highlight the importance of prevention, verification and rapid detection
A series of recent food recalls in Ireland involving sesame seeds and sesame-containing products has highlighted how quickly a microbiological issue associated with one ingredient can potentially spread across the wider food supply chain.
During August 2026, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) published a number of food alerts relating to sesame seeds and products containing sesame following the detection or potential presence of Salmonella.
The recalls have extended beyond packets of sesame seeds themselves, affecting finished products containing sesame and demonstrating an important food-safety principle:
One contaminated ingredient can potentially impact multiple products, production lines and businesses.
For food manufacturers, these incidents are a timely reminder of the importance of effective supplier controls, environmental monitoring, hygiene verification and rapid microbiological testing.
Why can Salmonella be a concern in sesame seeds?
Sesame seeds are a low-moisture food, but low moisture doesn't necessarily mean low microbiological risk.
Salmonella can survive for extended periods in low-moisture environments and foods.
Contamination can potentially occur during growing, harvesting, processing, transportation or storage.
If a contaminated ingredient subsequently enters a food manufacturing environment, effective controls become essential — particularly where the finished product will not undergo a validated kill step.
This is where a combination of prevention, monitoring and rapid detection becomes particularly valuable.
Building a Stronger Food Safety Programme
There isn't one test that can manage every food-safety risk.
An effective programme combines multiple layers of control — and iQ Scientific supplies solutions designed to support manufacturers at each stage.
1. Verify Cleaning with Hygiena ATP Monitoring
Cleaning may have been completed, but how do you know it has been effective?
ATP monitoring provides rapid verification of surface cleanliness, enabling hygiene teams to identify residual organic contamination and take corrective action before production begins.
Hygiena EnSURE® Touch
The Hygiena EnSURE Touch is an advanced hygiene monitoring system designed to provide rapid, actionable information directly on site.
Combined with Hygiena ATP tests such as UltraSnap®, SuperSnap® and AquaSnap®, manufacturers can build a comprehensive hygiene verification programme covering surfaces and water applications.
This allows teams to:
Verify cleaning effectiveness rapidly
Identify problem areas before production
Monitor hygiene performance over time
Establish appropriate pass/fail limits
Trend results across sites, lines and equipment
Provide documented evidence of hygiene verification
For manufacturers still relying primarily on visual inspection, ATP monitoring provides an important additional layer of information.
Already using an older ATP system? Speak to iQ Scientific about the options available for upgrading to Hygiena EnSURE Touch.
2. Environmental Sampling — Look Beyond What You Can See
Pathogens can survive in areas that aren't always obvious during routine cleaning inspections.
An effective Environmental Monitoring Programme (EMP) should therefore consider both food-contact and non-food-contact areas based on the risks within the facility.
Environmental sampling can include:
Production equipment
Conveyors
Floors and drains
Difficult-to-clean areas
Ingredient handling areas
Storage locations
High-care and high-risk environments
iQ Scientific supplies a range of environmental monitoring and microbiological sampling solutions, helping manufacturers select appropriate sampling devices for different surfaces and applications.
Good environmental monitoring isn't simply about collecting swabs.
It's about collecting meaningful data that helps identify trends and potential risks before they develop into larger problems.
3. Rapid Salmonella Detection with Hygiena BAX® System
When Salmonella is the organism of concern, speed matters.
Traditional microbiological workflows can mean waiting several days before obtaining actionable results.
The Hygiena BAX® System uses PCR technology to provide rapid pathogen detection and can be used as part of testing programmes for organisms including Salmonella.
For food manufacturers and testing laboratories, rapid detection can help support faster decision-making when investigating raw materials, environmental samples and finished products.
This can be particularly valuable when dealing with a suspected contamination event where every hour matters.
iQ Scientific supplies Hygiena BAX System PCR solutions and can help laboratories explore whether rapid PCR testing is appropriate for their testing requirements.
4. Don't Forget Allergen Control
Sesame presents another important challenge for food manufacturers.
In addition to microbiological risks such as Salmonella, sesame is also a regulated allergen in the UK and EU.
This means manufacturers handling sesame need to consider both microbiological and allergen risks within their food-safety programme.
Cross-contact controls, effective cleaning and appropriate verification are therefore essential when sesame-containing and sesame-free products are manufactured within the same facility.
iQ Scientific supplies a range of rapid allergen testing solutions, allowing manufacturers to strengthen verification of their allergen-control procedures.
Our range includes Hygiena allergen solutions such as AllerSnap®, alongside additional rapid allergen testing technologies for specific applications.
One Ingredient. Multiple Risks. Multiple Controls.
The recent sesame recalls demonstrate why food safety cannot rely on one control measure.
A comprehensive approach may include:
Raw Material Control
Understand your suppliers and the microbiological risks associated with incoming ingredients.
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Cleaning & Sanitation
Implement validated cleaning procedures appropriate to the environment.
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ATP Verification
Use Hygiena EnSURE Touch with UltraSnap, SuperSnap or AquaSnap to rapidly verify hygiene performance.
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Environmental Monitoring
Sample appropriate areas to identify potential microbiological contamination within the facility.
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Pathogen Detection
Use technologies such as the Hygiena BAX System for rapid detection of pathogens including Salmonella.
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Allergen Verification
Where sesame or other allergens are handled, verify that allergen-control procedures are working effectively.
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Trend & Improve
Use monitoring data to identify recurring issues and continuously improve your food-safety programme.
Are You Confident in Your Current Monitoring Programme?
The best time to review a food-safety programme isn't after something has gone wrong.
Ask yourself:
- Are we verifying cleaning or simply recording that cleaning took place?
- Are we sampling the areas most likely to harbour contamination?
- Are we trending our ATP and environmental monitoring results?
- How quickly could we identify Salmonella if contamination was suspected?
- Are our raw-material controls appropriate for higher-risk ingredients?
- Are our allergen controls being verified effectively?
If you're unsure about any of these questions, it may be time to review your current approach.
Talk to iQ Scientific
At iQ Scientific, we don't believe scientific supply should simply be about selling another box of tests.
Our team works with food manufacturers and laboratories to understand the application, identify the risks and recommend appropriate solutions.
From Hygiena EnSURE Touch ATP monitoring and environmental sampling through to BAX System PCR pathogen detection, allergen testing and laboratory support, we can help you build a smarter approach to food-safety monitoring.
And through iQ Labcare, we can also support laboratories with equipment servicing, calibration, preventative maintenance and breakdown support.
Want to review your current hygiene or environmental monitoring programme?
Speak to the iQ Scientific team.
We can help assess your current approach and identify where rapid testing and monitoring technologies could strengthen your food-safety programme.
iQ Scientific — Supplied by Experts.