Revolutionary System Automates Food Quality Testing

bioMérieux Brings First Automated Food Quality Testing System to Market at a Crucial Time for the Food Industry bioMérieux, Inc., has launched the first automated food quality testing system at a critical time for the food industry. TEMPO® was introduced at the International Association for Food Protection Annual Meeting last year and is gaining popularity among leading U.S. food product manufacturers. Using a quality testing system like TEMPO provides peace of mind in light of recent serious food borne outbreaks.

Recent reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveal that 76 million Americans get sick, more than 300,000 are hospitalized, and 5,000 people die from food borne illnesses each year. The most commonly recognized food borne infections are those caused by bacteria, such as Campylobacter, Salmonella, and E. coli O157:H7. Many food producers are taking advantage of TEMPO to incorporate automated food quality testing into the routine quality control process.

"The recent food borne outbreaks of E.coli and salmonella illustrate the importance of food quality testing; for this reason we introduced TEMPO two months ahead of schedule in an effort to help our customers maintain the highest standards of hygiene testing for their labs and plants," said Herb Steward, Executive Vice President and General Manager, bioMérieux, Inc. "We are extremely pleased that many companies have selected TEMPO to ensure the highest level of quality control for their products."

TEMPO is the food industry's first automated quality indicator testing solution for food companies to help with testing their products as part of a routine quality control process. The TEMPO system tests for quality indicator organisms, which can help food companies and producers manage the overall hygiene of their equipment and facilities and serve as an indicator for spoilage in their products.

TEMPO automates testing for total viable counts, coliform counts, generic E. coli, and Enterobacteriaceae. If there is an unacceptable level of these organisms in a facility's food products, it can lead to a negative financial impact for them and health concerns for the consumer. TEMPO's automation helps to standardize numerous preparation steps, interpretation, and test results. TEMPO can dramatically improve workflow and enables the lab technician more time to focus on other activities, leading to labor savings.

The technology behind TEMPO is based on a classic, well-established microbiological method, called MPN (Most Probable Number). While this method has been in use for a number of years, it had been very labor intensive and required training and skill in order to perform it effectively. TEMPO takes this classic MPN method and miniaturizes and automates the testing process through the use of a small plastic card, media vial and testing system. The improved workflow allows the lab to better synchronize their production schedule and product release from inventory.