Food & Beverage Analysis Bacterial Test Results Within a Working Day
Hygiena International Ltd has further developed their highly successful ATP bioluminescence system to specifically measure bacterial contamination, giving results within a working day or shift. The development involves their low cost but highly sensitive EnSURE hand-held luminometer, combined with their new versatile MicroSnap Total test. This system enumerates bacteria in raw, cooked and liquid foodstuffs as well as on solid surfaces such that results are available in 7 hours or less. The Hygiena MicroSnap Total bioluminogenic test system has a large dynamic range, being able to detect 10 - 10,000 bacteria without the need for serial dilutions, and every viable bacterium in the sample is measured. Accordingly the result is more precise and sample preparation is simpler, thus saving time and labour. MicroSnap requires simple, low cost equipment and being totally mobile, it can be successfully utilised in small remote locations.
MicroSnap Total can be used to test almost any sample and has been used to measure contamination in a wide variety of food types and on solid surfaces. Contamination levels of <10 cfu/g of ground beef were detected in 7 hours whereas >10,000 cfu/g were identified within only 4 hours. Similar results were also obtained for a variety of ready-to-eat foods and good correlations were obtained with the plate count.
For the first time, ATP technology has been modified to be independent of ATP in the sample, such that many specific test applications can be developed, and all of which can be performed on the same, low cost, portable instrument (EnSURE).
This multiple test platform includes specific tests to measure bacterial contamination including specific indicator and pathogenic bacteria. The MicroSnap range includes tests for Total Counts, Coliforms and E. coli. Tests for Listeria species, L. monocytogenes, and Staph. aureus as well as its antibiotic resistant forms are also in development. The ZymoSnap range detects enzymes of industrial importance such as phosphatases for dairy and meat products, proteases, lipases and amylase giving results in minutes. SuperSnap is a high-sensitivity surface hygiene test giving results within 15 seconds, that is used as part of an allergen management program together with a high sensitivity protein test (AllerSnap).
MORE INFO. 529
New Guide on Sugar Determination in Food
Sugar is among the most important topics within the food industry. Initially a rare and high-priced product, the former white gold has become an excessively used commodity. Nowadays the industry trend is towards a reduction of sugar content of food, in order to reduce the negative health effects of high sugar consumption.
Mettler Toledo has recently launched the 'Ultimate Sugar Guide' to provide comprehensive information about sugar content determination and moisture in sugar.
The guide starts with a short review on the history of sugar and then presents and discusses different methods for sugar content determination. The most common method for determining sugar content is by refractometry or Brix based on density. A selection of applications are presented and reviewed and the results of the measurements are presented. Another topic is the titration of reducing sugars, as well as the determination of moisture and water content in sugar. Production process control in sugar refineries is presented as a conclusion of the topic. The guide also provides tips and tricks to enhance measurement methods for the interested user.
The guide is a comprehensive source of information about sugar in food and can be downloaded for free at:
www.mt.com/sugar-lab.
MORE INFO. 530
Validation made Easy as new Enrichment Medium meets ISO Standards in Full
ICP-MS Employed to Speciate Arsenic and Measure Nanoparticles in Food
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc has announced that The National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), has adopted a Thermo Scientific iCAP Q inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) for research supporting EU Commission development of standards for arsenic and nanomaterials in food.
Dr Erik Huusfeldt Larsen, Senior Researcher at The National Food Institute,(DTU) and his Metals, Minerals & Nano Group at DTU are using the iCAP Q ICP-MS system to determine the species of arsenic found in food samples. EU Commission researchers have found that it is no longer adequate to measure total arsenic in food because small amounts of inorganic arsenic can be associated with diseases such as cancers of the skin and bladder, while organic arsenic is much less toxic. Larsen notes that until recently, arsenic contamination was associated mainly with fish and other marine products; but in recent years, arsenic found in drinking water, rice and wheat have also attracted public attention.
This work supports the European Conffidence project , including inorganic arsenic. In this project, the iCAP Q instrument will be used for selective and sensitive detection of arsenic following solid phase extraction.
Dr Larsen’s group also collaborates on the EU-funded NanoLyse project for determination of nanoparticles including silver, silica and organic nanoparticles in the food matrix. The iCAP Q system will be used in ‘single particle’ ICP-MS mode for determination of metallic nanoparticles in food. ”This technology gives us the capability to detect and count individual nanoparticles in food, and this is very important,” said Dr Larsen. “We need to know more than just the size of the particles present, we must also be able to determine the number-based size distribution of particles in a sample. This matters because toxic effects are likely to be associated with the huge surface area of nanoparticles.”
MORE INFO. 531
With the introduction of its new Alkaline Saline Peptone Water (ISO), microbiology company Lab M now provides a complete media offering for the enrichment and detection of Vibrio spp. from food and water samples. Naturally present in warm coastal waters, Vibrio spp. can contaminate seafood, with the consumption of raw or undercooked shellfish, such as oysters, posing particular problems as potential sources of illness.
Intended for the selective enrichment of Vibrio spp., Lab M’s new Alkaline Saline Peptone Water (ISO) is defined in the international standard ISO 21872:2007 - Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs: Horizontal method for the detection of potentially enteropathogenic Vibrio spp - Part 1: Detection of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio cholerae and Part 2: Detection of species other than Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio cholerae.
The elevated pH and salt concentration in this easily prepared formulation ensure a favourable environment for enrichment, while peptone provides essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids and nitrogen needed for growth. ASPW (ISO) may be used alongside Lab M’s TCBS Cholera Medium, which is designed to suppress the growth of Enterobacteriaciae and enable the selective isolation of Vibrio spp.
MORE INFO. 532
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
