Food Pathogen Testing Market Report 2026

The food pathogen testing market size has grown rapidly in recent years. It will grow from $12.31 billion in 2025 to $13.68 billion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.1%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to rising incidents of foodborne illnesses, strengthening food safety regulations, expansion of processed food production, increased outsourcing of food testing services, improvements in microbiological testing methods.

The food pathogen testing market size is expected to see rapid growth in the next few years. It will grow to $20.72 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.9%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to growing adoption of rapid and real-time testing solutions, increasing investment in advanced food diagnostics, rising focus on preventive food safety management, expansion of testing in emerging food markets, integration of digital data management in testing workflows. Major trends in the forecast period include increasing adoption of rapid pathogen detection methods, rising use of pcr-based testing technologies, growing demand for on-site food safety testing, expansion of automation in food testing laboratories, enhanced focus on multi-pathogen detection capabilities.

The rising demand from the food and beverage industry is expected to drive the growth of the food pathogen testing market in the coming years. The food and beverage industry includes businesses engaged in the production, distribution, and sale of edible goods and beverages, spanning sectors from agriculture and manufacturing to restaurants and cafes. Food pathogen testing is critical for ensuring product safety and quality. It helps detect and control harmful pathogens, prevent foodborne illnesses, protect public health, comply with regulatory standards, and maintain consumer confidence in food and beverage products. For example, in October 2024, the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) reported that in 2023, the average weekly spending on all food and drinks rose to $57.2 (£43.33) per person, a 5.4% increase from $54.3 (£41.11) in 2022. Thus, growing demand from the food and beverage industry is fueling the food pathogen testing market.

Key players in the food pathogen testing market are increasingly focusing on developing advanced molecular diagnostic tools, such as speciation kits, to gain a competitive advantage. Speciation kits are laboratory instruments used to identify the species of an organism based on its DNA. For instance, in April 2023, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., a US-based research company, launched the ID-Check Speciation kits, designed to detect DNA from select meat species in food, feed, and environmental samples. These kits target mitochondrial DNA to identify species such as bovine, chicken, duck, goat, horse, sheep, swine, and turkey. Under optimal conditions, the kits offer exceptional sensitivity, providing results in under 2 hours with detection limits as low as 0.001% (0.01% for chicken and swine).

In October 2024, Mérieux NutriSciences, a France-based healthcare and food testing services company, acquired Bureau Veritas’s global food-testing business for an undisclosed amount. This acquisition allows Mérieux NutriSciences to expand its global presence, enhance its food-safety testing capabilities, and strengthen its service offerings in microbiological, chemical, and molecular food testing. Bureau Veritas S.A., a France-based testing and inspection company, specializes in providing comprehensive food-safety, microbiological, chemical, and pathogen-testing services for a wide range of food products.

Major companies operating in the food pathogen testing market are Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance Limited, Intertek Group PLC, Asurequality Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., Merck Co. & KGaA, Neogen Corporation, bioMerieux SA, Agilent Technologies Inc., Qiagen NV, Shimadzu Corporation, SGS Société Générale de Surveillance SA, Genetic Id Na Inc., RapidBio Systems Inc., Mérieux NutriSciences Corp., FoodChain ID Inc., Ring Biotechnology Co. Ltd., Genon Laboratories Ltd., PerkinElmer Inc., Randox Food Diagnostics Ltd., Omega Diagnostics Group PLC, Romer Labs Inc., Eurofins Scientific SE, Charm Sciences Inc., Hygiena LLC, MilliporeSigma, Hardy Diagnostics, Luminex Corporation.

Europe was the largest region in the food pathogen testing market in 2025. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the food pathogen testing market report are Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa. The countries covered in the food pathogen testing market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Italy, Spain, Canada.

The food pathogen testing services market includes revenues earned by entities through multiplex PCR, real-time PCR, nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA), loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), and oligonucleotide DNA microarray. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. Only goods and services traded between entities or sold to end consumers are included.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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