New test for yeast, moulds
is sensitive and fast, says firm
By Jane Byrne, 16-Jan-2009
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topics:
Innovation
A new testing method for
the enumeration of yeast and mould counts in food products provides
extremely accurate results within a quick turnaround time, claims
bioMérieux.
The France-based in vitro
diagnostics firm said that its Tempo YM is highly sensitive and can
deliver results in approximately 72 hours, half the time of most other
methods, including the ISO reference technique, allowing food manufactures
to determine their exact level of process contamination.
As a means of ensuring the
consistent taste and quality of their products, food companies monitor
yeast and mould levels to make sure that they fall within regulatory
and factory limits prior to leaving the plant.
Although yeasts and
moulds do not normally cause human illness, high levels may cause food
products to spoil prematurely. This may cause the product to look, smell
or taste bad, thus diminishing or damaging consumers’ perceptions of the
brand.
Pascal Cruveiller,
communications spokesperson for the diagnostics company, said the Tempo YM
takes a 10ml or 10g of a food and juice sample, which is then diluted and
homogenised, with 1ml of that mixture then used to perform the test.
Automation
He explained this latest test
in the bioMérieux range uses the most probable number (MPN) method to
calculate results, which facilitates its integration in both industrial
and official laboratories.
“Through automation, the
TEMPO takes an older, labour-intensive testing system for the enumeration
of quality indicator organisms in food and environmental samples and
standardizes numerous preparation steps, interpretation and test results.
“The rapid results
achieved with automated systems allow the customer’s product to be
released earlier,” said Cruveiller.
Food and drink
applications
He told
FoodProductionDaily.com that the Tempo YM can be employed to record the
quantity of yeast and moulds in confectionery, dairy and bakery products,
as well as in
fruit juices and dry raw materials.
Cruveiller added that with
Tempo YM in its line up, bioMérieux can now provide a complete automated
menu of routine testing for total viable counts, coliform counts, generic
E. coli, S. aureus, Enterobacteriaceae, lactic acid
bacteria and yeasts and moulds.
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