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US company Mocon Inc has launched a new screening system which it says can significantly reduce bacterial detection times for food processors and packers, as well as boosting speed-to-market times across a range of products.

According to FoodProductionDaily.com, Mocon announced the global launch of its GreenLight series which it said provides same-day analysis of anaerobic bacterial counts in meat, poultry, seafood and dairy.

Results can be obtained in minutes or up to eight hours โ€“ a major time-saving compared to the 48 hours typically needed for traditional agar plate methods, the report said.

The smaller of the two models unveiled is suitable for in-plant use by food processors and packers that need to conduct less than 50 tests a day, Guy Wray, company marketing manager, was quoted saying.

FoodProductionDaily.comโ€™s report said the system provides a total viable count (TVC) or aerobic plate count (APC) of a food sampleโ€™s microbial load by using a sensing assay or vial. As bacteria in the test sample multiply and respire, they consume oxygen. The change in oxygen is used to calculate the original sampleโ€™s colony forming units per gram (cfu/g) for solids or per millilitre for liquids. This correlation between oxygen consumption and colony forming units has been confirmed by the AOAC.

The system determines whether a product contains live bacteria without specifying whether they are harmful or not. It provides data that shows whether the TVC or APC reading in a product has โ€“ or has not – reached a processorโ€™s or packerโ€™s own โ€˜ship levelโ€™.

โ€œCompanies will now have a faster, less labour intensive screening method than the traditional agar plate process which is used by most manufacturing facilities,โ€ added the company’s senior project engineer Tim Ascheman. โ€œShorter testing cycles provide packers and processors with the potential of getting their perishable food items to the consumer in less time.โ€

The equipment is available in two models – the smaller 910 (pictured above) targeted at processing areas and smaller labs, while the higher-capacity 960 is designed for larger labs with bigger throughout needs. Both units are compact and portable and come with a USB connection that can be used to interact with the dedicated computer software, said Mocon. โ€“ Source: FoodProductionDaily.com

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