Using Neogen's AOAC-approved ISO-GRID™ or disposable NEO-GRID™ 48-hour yeast and mold filter membrane test can result in significant savings in inventory costs over test systems that require up to 5 days to yield results. The much quicker time to result can also yield significant intangible benefits.

"There are costs associated with holding inventory for test results that can be quantified and significant, such as tied up capital costs, storage and handling, insurance, property taxes, and depreciation and obsolescence," said Ed Bradley, Neogen's vice president of Food Safety sales and marketing. "Other associated costs can be significant, but harder to quantify. For example, how much is it worth to be able to ship a product to a key customer three days sooner?"

Neogen's ISO-GRID 48-hour enumeration test for yeast and mold has been extremely popular for years because of the substantial time-savings it offered. The new disposable NEO-GRID system uses the same protocols as the ISO-GRID system, but eliminates the time needed to clean the equipment after testing. With NEO-GRID, simply use once and dispose.

The NEO-GRID/ISO-GRID system is based on the principle of hydrophobic grid membrane filtration. A sample's target organism is detected and/or enumerated through the use of a unique membrane filter containing a grid of 1,600 squares. A sample is filtered through a hydrophobic membrane, and the membrane is placed on an agar plate (Neogen's YM-11 Agar is used for yeast and mold). After incubation, the membrane is examined, and all squares containing the target organism are counted. The total number of positive squares is converted to the corresponding most probable number (MPN).

In addition to the test for yeast and mold, the NEO-GRID/ISO-GRID systems also have AOAC-approved testing protocols for coliforms/E. coli, total bacterial count, E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, and testing protocols for Listeria spp. and L. monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, fecal Streptococcus, Gram-negative bacterial count, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Yersinia enterocolitica, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Clostridium perfringens, and a disinfectant efficacy test.