MOCON, Inc. is introducing a new screening system for same-day bacterial detection in food. The new GreenLight™ series significantly reduces the testing time and labor needed to determine aerobic bacterial counts in meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, produce, etc. Processors and packers get accurate results and improve speed to market in a cost-effective manner.
The GreenLight™ series provides a total viable count (TVC) or aerobic plate count (APC) of a food sample´s microbial load by using a sensing assay or vial. As bacteria in the test sample multiply and respire, they consume oxygen. The change in oxygen is used to calculate the original sample´s colony forming units per gram (cfu/g) for solids or per milliliter for liquids.
The development of this new, leading-edge technology has been made possible via MOCON´s investment in Luxcel Biosciences Limited (Luxcel), Cork, Ireland, which was announced earlier this year. At the time, MOCON stated that as part of its initial post-investment activity, it would dedicate some of its research and development resources to help bring a high-throughput pathogen (Listeria, Salmonella, E. coli, etc.) screening process to the food industry. The GreenLight™ series is part of that initiative.
The GreenLight™ series is making its debut with two models—the 910 and 960. The Model 910 is compact and easy to use. It targets smaller labs and processing areas. The Model 960 has been designed for larger labs which require higher throughput. The system is extremely flexible and utilizes a standard plate reader format which can be automated. It can test 96 or 384 well plates in either a pass/fail or absolute mode. The Model 960 has a throughput potential of 1 to 384 absolute tests in one day.