3M Food Safety upgrades its Petrifilm Rapid Yeast & Mold Count Plate
3M Petrifilm Rapid Yeast & Mold Count Plate detects the presence of yeasts and molds in food and the environment within 48 hours, claiming to be faster than conventional testing methods.
Time-to-result from five days to two
Eric Amann, global marketing manager, 3M Food Safety, told FoodProductionDaily, the product has done very well in the market since its launch in late 2013 and we’re proud it was recognized last month with an Edison Award for innovation.
“We have reduced the time-to-result from five days down to two days. This past January, we continued our rapid series with the launch of the 3M Petrifilm Rapid Aerobic Count plate, taking the time-to-result from two days down to a single day,” he said.
“For our customers, it will enable them to release their food products faster. This can have a huge impact for some production facilities such as those that store refrigerated or frozen finished goods and are able to cut that inventory by 40-60%.”
The Edison Awards, conducted by the non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization Edison Universe, are sponsored by Ipsos and dedicated to fostering future innovators including projects bridging students to industry.
3M Petrifilm Salmonella Express System
This is the fourth year in a row 3M Food Safety has received an Edison Award. Other technologies previously receiving honors include the 3M Petrifilm Salmonella Express System, 3M Molecular Detection System, and the Aerobic Procedure for Lactic Acid Bacteria with 3M Petrifilm Aerobic Count Plate.
3M Food Safety develops, manufactures and sells food diagnostic testing products. Customers include large and small food processing companies and reference labs that provide testing services.
According to Amann, the supply chain of the world’s food production is becoming increasingly interconnected and complex, much like the rest of global trade. Keeping food safe in this complex system is becoming an increasingly challenging task.
“Food safety practitioners need to stay a step ahead of the evolving complexity and new risks that emerge,” he added.
“Our job at 3M Food Safety is to come up with products to make them more effective in their job of keeping food safe.”
He said the main challenge today is globalization and firms can overcome this by providing relevant technology that improves the ability to food growers and processors to provide safe food, in both developed and developing countries.
Regarding on-going trends, Amann said commerce is becoming much more data driven.
“As a nearly infinite amount of things can be measured, finding the truly relevant ones and acting on them becomes the challenge. Food production, traceability and safety will also follow along this trend,” he added.
