3M Food Safety Leverages Petrifilm Technology for Pathogen Detection
ST. PAUL, Minn. (June 11, 2013) – 3M Food Safety announces the launch of the 3M™
Petrifilm™ Salmonella Express System, a new pathogen detection technology that builds upon a
solid platform of pathogen detection solutions. Immediately available worldwide, this system is
focused on Salmonella, which comprises nearly half of all pathogen testing. Though not
previously available as a pathogen test, 3M™ Petrifilm Plates have transformed the food
processing industry to the point that 91 of the top 100 U.S. food processing companies now rely
on them for their indicator testing needs.
“Leveraging 3M’s record of innovation, the 3M Petrifilm Salmonella Express System
exemplifies our commitment to food safety,” said Mojdeh Poul, vice president and general
manager, 3M Food Safety. “3M’s newly expanded portfolio of pathogen detection solutions
represents our dedication to collaborate closely with the industry to deliver fast detection
methods with accurate results.”
The new system has already received Performance Tested Method (PTM) validation
(Certification Number 061301) from AOAC Research Institute. The 3M Petrifilm Salmonella
Express System was found to be equivalent to or better than the reference methods for raw
ground chicken, pasteurized liquid whole egg, raw ground beef, raw ground pork, cooked
chicken nuggets, frozen uncooked shrimp, fresh bunched spinach, dry dog food and stainless
steel.
Today, the new system provides a shorter time-to-result, more uniform results and a longer shelf
life than the conventional agar methods. It provides detection and biochemical confirmation of
Salmonella in enriched food and food process environmental samples, including dairy, fruits and
vegetables, raw meat, seafood and pet food and results are available in as little as 44 hours – two
times faster than traditional agar methods.
The easy-to-use system is an all-in-one method. First, the 3M™ Petrifilm™ Salmonella Express
Plate is a sample-ready, chromogenic culture medium that is specific to Salmonella and provides
a presumptive result. Next, the 3M™ Petrifilm™ Salmonella Express Confirmation Disk
contains a substrate that facilitates the biochemical confirmation of all presumptive positive
Salmonella colonies on the plate in just four hours. By way of comparison, when food processors
outsource sample testing with a third-party contract lab, they’ll commonly wait 24-72 hours for
confirmation and pay a nominal amount for each presumptive positive colony requiring
confirmation.
“This product was created with the needs of our customers in mind,” said Tina Bauman, global
marketing supervisor with 3M Food Safety. “Increased regulation and prevalence of foodborne
pathogens such as Salmonella have created a demand for new pathogen detection solutions that
are accurate, fast, simple and affordable.”
With the addition of the 3M Petrifilm Salmonella Express System, 3M Food Safety’s pathogen
detection portfolio provides a total solution, offering molecular, immunoassay and indicator
testing methods. DNA-based solutions include the highly innovative 3M™ Molecular Detection
System introduced in December 2011, and the 3M Tecra™ Pathogen and Toxin Visual
Immunoassay (VIA).
When 3M Petrifilm Plates launched in the mid-1980s, it was widely viewed as a step forward in
ensuring the quality and safety of food products. Eliminating the need to prepare, purchase and
store agar dishes, they take up 85 percent less space than agar plates, freeing up valuable room in
processors’ incubators, lab benches and refrigerators, and reducing company waste.
For more information, please visit www.3M.com/3MPathogenSolutions/SALX.
AOAC RI, based in Gaithersburg, MD, is a subsidiary of AOAC International, a globally
recognized, independent, not-for-profit association founded in 1884. AOAC serves communities
of the analytical sciences by providing the tools and processes necessary to develop voluntary
consensus standards or technical standards through stakeholder consensus and working groups in
which the fit-for-purpose and method performance criteria are established and fully documented.
AOAC provides a science-based solution and its Official Methods of Analysis gives
defensibility, credibility, and confidence in decision-making. AOAC Official Methods are
accepted and recognized worldwide
3M Food Safety is a leader of innovative solutions that help the food and beverage industries
optimize the quality and safety of their products to enable consumer protection. At every step,
3M Food Safety provides solutions that help mitigate risk, improve operational efficiencies and
impact the bottom line. For more information, visit www.3M.com/foodsafety or follow
@3M_FoodSafety on Twitter.
About 3M
3M captures the spark of new ideas and transforms them into thousands of ingenious products.
Our culture of creative collaboration inspires a never-ending stream of powerful technologies
that make life better. 3M is the innovation company that never stops inventing. With $30 billion
in sales, 3M employs 88,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 70 countries. For
more information, visit www.3M.com or follow @3MNews on Twitter.
