Microbiological Testing
3M Food Safety has announced the launch of 3M™
Petrifilm™ Aqua Plates,
bringing the convenience of
food microbiology testing to
the global water and beverage processing industries.
The new product builds upon
the 3M™ Petrifilm™ Plate and is available immediately for
testing bottled water in beverage and food processing plants.
Containing a water-soluble gelling agent, nutrients and indicators, the plates test for the four most common contaminants
that threaten a company’s product: heterotrophic count, coliform, yeast and mold and bacteria. An industry study
demonstrated that companies can save approximately 3. 7
hours per day of technician time. Consequently, the saved
time can be redirected to more value-adding activities such
as increased sampling, production monitoring and HACCP
programming.
3M, 800.328.1671 • www.3M.com/foodsafety
Antibiotic Test
Neogen Corporation has received Performance Tested Status from the AOAC Research Institute for its new rapid test developed for use in the U.S. to detect dairy antibiotic residues,
including ceftiofur, in milk. This test detects dairy antibiotic
residues in the beta-lactam group, at or below U.S. Food and
Drug Administration regulatory levels. The test uses an extremely simple-to-use dipstick that requires only minimal training and equipment to produce consistently accurate results.
Neogen, 800.234.5333 • www.neogen.com
Photoelectric and Inductive
Sensors
Baumer has launched
photoelectric and inductive
sensors in hygienic and
washdown design. The new
sensors with their smooth,
groove-free V4A stainless
steel housings, as well as
the mounting accessories,
are European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group (EHEDG)-
certified, and the materials are U.S. Food and Drug Adminis-
tration-compliant. Along with the range of EHEDG-certified
reflectors and cables with protection class IP69K, the com-
pany offers a complete solution for position detection in the
food zone. For applications not requiring a hygienic design,
Baumer offers sensors with washdown design. These sensors
are as resistant against detergents and high-pressure water
spray as those in hygienic design, but they have conventional
mounting.
FOCUS
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• For food suppliers, cost is seen as a key prohibitive factor to
comply with third-party certification.
• Cost and program implementation complexities are the
most important factors food suppliers consider in choosing
audit and certification agencies.
• Consumers and food suppliers have divergent views on
funding priorities for food safety programs.
Consumers largely favor more funding and resource allocation for third-party certification in balance with government inspection and traceability.
“Consumers and food
suppliers agree that a wide range
of issues have a significant
relevance in creating a sustain-
able food system.”
Food suppliers favor funding for product source/
traceability programs.
• With regard to funding for third-party certification programs, food suppliers believe that market forces should primarily drive certification. The private sector should take the
lead in funding these programs. Industry and public support would be needed to bridge the funding gap and to
minimize risk.
• Interviewed food suppliers suggested the need for strengthening the scientific basis of the existing and newly emerging
certification standards to make them acceptable by a wide
range of stakeholders and to meet regulatory requirements.
Overall, from the highest level, the key takeaways from the
study are the following:
• Consumers and food suppliers have divergent views on pri-oritizing food safety programs for resource allocation purposes, which appears to be complicated by the proliferation
of different food safety standards and benchmarks.
• Food suppliers are introducing third-party certification
schemes primarily as a risk management tool, mainly to reduce risks associated with liability claims.
• Throughout the surveys, traceability has been favored
among suppliers, while consumers favored third-party
certification.
This divergence likely goes back to the foundations of
trust.
For the consumer, an independent third-party certification adds a level of credibility.
This also suggests that the different forms of food safety
programs would continue to co-exist.
