This is unacceptable and can damage the reputation of microbial control in addition to possibly posing health risks to those that produce or are exposed to the product.

Many low technology production systems in use around the world have minimal or no quality control procedures. Recognition of contaminants and quantification of the degree of contamination are therefore important in determining any possible risk to human health. In most of such cases this will merely lead to a loss of efficacy due to dilution of the active ingredient by competing microorganisms, but also the potential of producing human pathogens must be ruled out. Where quality control is inadequate, microbial contamination of the final product is inevitable. Strict quality control procedures are not only essential for product consistency, but also for safety. This results in products with variable performance leading to control failures by users and serious loss of user confidence. A production system that does not have a quality control system is one whose output is uncontrolled and a lack of thorough quality feedback can result in batches of product with variable concentrations of active agent. Well-defined product specifications with accompanying quality control procedures help to maximize product performance, ensure product safety, standardize manufacturing costs and reduce the risks of supply failure, thus building user confidence. An essential feature of the production of all microbial control agents is an effective quality control system.

Quality control of biocontrol agents