The firm spoke to FoodQualityNews.com about the 30 year anniversary of the introduction of its 3M Petrifilm Plates for indicator testing.
The technology, first introduced in 1984, has been used for colony interpretation and enumeration for food and beverage processors.
It includes plates for a variety of food and beverage organisms, an automated reader and 16 patents in its portfolio.
Stretch around the earth five times
More than two billion Petrifilm Plates have been produced since 1984, said Kevin Habas, global scientific marketing and education manager.
“They are sold to all food markets, protein, produce, prepared and processed foods, dairy plants and processors as well as contract laboratories and government and university labs use them as well so broadly used in the identification of foodborne bacteria.”
If placed end-to-end, these would stretch around the earth five times, or if stacked, would equal the height of about 2,857 Eiffel Towers.
The portfolio has 14 microbial quantitative tests available, the latest being the 3M Petrifilm Rapid Yeast and Mold Count Plates for the detection of yeasts and molds in 48 hours.
The company also introduced the 3M Petrifilm Salmonella Express System, which provides qualitative detection and biochemical confirmation of Salmonella.
3M Food Safety will be showcasing the technology at the International Association of Food Protection (IAFP) annual event 3-6 August, booth #501.
- Kevin has more than 20 years of food safety experience working with multinational food companies to understand their needs and provide solutions to monitor and reduce microbiological risk. He is a member of IAFP and the Dairy Professional Development Group and is a founding member and Treasurer of the Minnesota Food Protection Association, an affiliate of IAFP.