The promotion of a high level of food safety and quality is of major importance world-wide. Aspects of food quality such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs), food allergens and food authentication have become increasingly important while food-borne diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites continue to be a significant problem. The application of real-time PCR is one of the most promising advances in food safety and quality providing rapid, reliable and quantitative results. In recent years real-time PCR has become a valuable alternative to traditional detection methods in the agricultural and food industries. The advantages of quantitative real-time PCR include speed, an excellent detection limit, selectivity, specificity, sensitivity and the potential for automation.