The number of food recalls has been rising at an alarming rate. Worse, there's been an even more alarming increase in the number of so-called Class One recalls, wherein, according to the FDA, "there's a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death."

A March, 2025 report by the watchdog group Food Safety Net Service (FSNS) disclosed that:
• Hospitalizations/deaths from contaminated food doubled in 2024.

• Undeclared allergens, pathogens (Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli), and toxic contaminants drove the most recalls.

• 13 outbreaks caused 98% of all reported foodborne illnesses in 2024.

Coupled with this troubling record is the benign but equally forceful fact that consumers are increasingly focused on healthfulness, nutrition, and clean labels when it comes to the ingredients that appear on product labels.

The International Food Information Council’s (IFIC) 2024 Food & Health Survey of more than 1,000 consumers found that "overall confidence in the safety of the US food supply is significantly down in 2024," having dropped from nearly three-quarters (70%) to less than two-thirds (62%). Nearly one in 10 (9%) expressed they were "not at all confident" in the safety of the US food supply.

The IFIC report also noted that, "Among multiple food safety issues, consumers are most concerned about carcinogens in food, foodborne illness from bacteria, and pesticides. Of those concerned with foodborne illness, nearly all are familiar with 'best by' dates, but only 2 in 3 (67%) are familiar with what to do in a food recall.

Although the respondents to the IFIC study expressed that foods labeled as “natural,” “organic,” or “healthy,” or “no artificial ingredients/colors” are contributing factors toward their confidence in the safety of food, merely slapping those labels on a food won't stem the tide of diminishing confidence in what foods they buy. As pointed out by the FSNS, such statistics are "a wake-up call for food safety professionals" and that "faster testing, better supplier oversight, and stronger recall plans are critical."

And these factors don't even include the growing incidents of ingredient fraud. The "take-home" for food manufacturers is that the information on food and beverage labels is trusted only when authenticated by laboratory instruments, analyzers, and services.

In this section, we offer detailed listings for suppliers of instruments, analyzers, lab tech, and services. Click below for references by company name, headquarters and website.