In recent years NRS™ Transwabs® from Medical Wire & Equipment have become established as the product of choice for measuring residual contamination, or its absence, on disinfected food processing surfaces.

The novel product presentation consists of a plastic shaft swab with rayon bud in a labelled tube. A separate tube contains 10ml of Neutralising Rinse Solution. The solution will neutralise traces of disinfectants or sanitisers which may be present on the surface being tested. The swab is supplied complete with a labelled plastic tube for storage prior to use and subsequent transport of sample.

The product has been developed in response to the requirements of the food industry. The formulation is based on the universal neutraliser solution recommended by Campden, and others, and also described in ISO 18593:2004. Each batch of NRS Transwabs is tested against a range of organisms of relevance to food manufacturers, including Listeria, Salmonella, E. coli, Staph. aureus.

The Neutralising Rinse Solution inactivates chlorine, quaternary ammonium compounds, phenolics and aldehydes. Other features of the product include:

· Precise fill for accurate measurement of microbial levels
· Non-rolling tube
· Specially designed fluted cap for ease of handling and containment of sample
· Plastic shaft - inert, non-toxic and non-inhibitory for fastidious organisms
· Blue shaft for visibility
· Rayon bud - recommended material for transport of live microorganisms
· Tamper-evident seal on tube


Medical Wire & Equipment is approved to ISO 9001:2000, ISO 13485:2003 for the design and manufacture of sterile medical devices, and the design and manufacture of sterile and non-sterile in-vitro diagnostic devices.

Medical Wire & Equipment products are CE-marked and conforms to: European In Vitro Devices Directive, In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Directive (98/79/EC), 1998, Official Journal of European Communities, L331/1.

References
1. Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association, 1999, Guideline No. 20 "Effective Microbiological Sampling of Food Processing Environments".
2. ISO 18593:2004 Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs.- Horizontal methods for sampling techniques from surfaces using contact plates and swabs. International Standards Organisation, Geneva.