Food Safety Testing

Food safety testing is a growing part of today's news. The cantaloupe listeria outbreak is the worst in the U.S. in over a decade with 18 dead.  In August, Cargill recalled over 36 million pounds of turkey due to salmonella, the second largest meat recall in U.S history.

Costco now requires food suppliers to test for E. coli and may add melons to that list in the wake of the listeria outbreak.

Consumer awareness of food safety testing is growing with increased media attention and food processors, growers, ranchers and retailers will all need to respond.

CapWave is developing SearchlightTM, an easy-to-use optical biosensor device for on-site food safety testing. Searchlight's high sensitivity at 0.1 pg/mL cuts sample prep to 8-12 hours and delivers results in 22 minutes or less.

Initial plans call for assay tests for E. coli, salmonella, listeria and campylobacter.

 

The Impact of FSMA

The Food Safety Modernization Act gives the FDA new power to order recalls and suspend production if necessary.

FDA Director Margaret Hamburg says it will be a priority of FSMA to "increase the capacity of labs and food safety programs."

The end result: more testing on site. And a greater need for faster results that deliver the accuracy and reliability of the lab.

CapWave's Searchlight food safety testing device offers higher performance and reliability to meet the new demands created by FSMA.