Strict legislation, growing public concern and the threat of legal action has made food safety the priority of the industry. Little surprise then that innovations designed to make the food industry a safer place continue to flood the market. UK-based food safety company Oxoid for example has launched Stock Watch, a product that aims to make life in the food microbiology laboratory easier.
Stock Watch is a hand-held device that utilises the new Oxoid Stock Control and Replenishment software (that tracks products by their barcodes), and the firm claims that the product provides a portable and accurate way of monitoring and managing laboratory stock.
The Stock Watch device is used to scan bar-coded items that come into the laboratory, storing information such as stock levels, expiry dates, storage location and order status. The system then automatically alerts the user to low stock levels, eliminating the laborious and time-consuming task of stock counting and allowing purchase orders to be raised promptly when more stock is required.
In addition the system alerts to stock that is reaching its expiry date. This helps to improve stock rotation and to reduce wastage.
Oxoid claims that the software is particularly useful for monitoring products subject to high stock turnover, such as prepared media products. The laboratory sets its own minimum and maximum stock levels, according to the normal usage of the product and delivery times.
When the minimum level is reached, the system displays the quantity that needs to be ordered. It will also display when products are on order and allows for products to be moved to different locations in the laboratory. To save further time, Oxoid product details are already stored on the system, minimising the amount of data that needs to be entered and reducing opportunities for error.
The company has also designed a new tube designed for use in food icrobiology laboratories. The tube, which van hold Oxoid media, has a specially designed cap that comes off in one twist for ease of use. It is elongated, making it easy to grasp and reducing the chance of contaminating the mouth of the Tube during testing. Designed to fit standard test-tube racks, Oxoid claims that the tubes make food testing easier and more convenient.
A number of food testing media are available, including selective enrichment broths such as Rappaport Vassiliadis Soya Peptone Broth, Selenite Cysteine Broth and Buffered Listeria Enrichment Broth. Diluents and selective indicator broths, such as Maximum Recovery Diluent and MacConkey Broth Purple are also available.
The company says that the tubes are manufactured and certified to the highest standards, and use high quality Oxoid dehydrated media. The tubes provide the quality and reliability essential for accurate food testing.
Oxoid is a leading manufacturer and distributor of microbiological culture media and other diagnostic products. Based in the UK, the firm is supported by a network of sales and distribution companies in Europe, North and South America and Australia. The Oxoid range of products is used in clinical and industrial laboratories to isolate and identify the bacteria or other organisms causing disease or spoilage.