Food and Beverages Tech Review: Specials Magazine

Test and Release food safety testing has been an elusive challenge for the food production industry. For decades, the industry has relied heavily on third-party laboratories to generate pathogen tests days after production is ready to ship to buyers, which means food samples often leave the production floor and travel miles before testing even begins. The industry has long needed a cheap, easy to use and totally flawless “Test and Release” solution to the food safety issue now AME Certified Laboratories has released the ideal system. By the time results come back, the food may already be sitting in expensive to maintain cold storage facilities, losing freshness and shelf life, or moving closer to distribution without clear confirmation of safety. The problem is not just the waiting. Many third-party labs still depend on outdated culture-based methods that can take several days to produce test results and do not always deliver consistent accuracy. Even when the traditional methods are established, logistical issues such as sample handling and accessioning create opportunities for error. Accessioning involves receiving, labeling, and sorting hundreds of samples at once. This is the gap that AME Certified Laboratories set out to close. Instead of leaving such a critical step to outside parties, AME equips food processors with in-house cutting-edge DNA-based Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing systems that can be used directly in their own facilities with their own employees. AME, equips, trains, supports, provides the test kits, and certifies the in-house employees. Trained employees report their increased capability after being certified to be AME PCR Technicians, increased their value to the food production organization. By giving food manufacturers, the most advanced tools to conduct tests themselves, the company eliminates the time lag, reduces the risk of error, and dramatically improves outcomes. Food processors gain control over one of the most sensitive points in the supply chain, with results available in minutes rather than days with ISO 17025-level systems and train. Unlike traditional third-party testing, where food samples are sent out and results can take days to arrive, AME's in-house PCR testing returns results in as few as 20 minutes of run time. That is a game-changer for food producers, especially for items with short shelf lives, such as fresh produce. This immediate feedback allows them to address contamination concerns quickly without waiting for outside labs. In fact, AME’s system is so efficient that it reduces the need for costly cold storage while products are awaiting test results, thus the “Test and Release” method realized. Food producers report the ‘no down time’ associated with waiting for test results a big advantage in the shipment of products to buyers. An AME client noted, "The most desirable and advantageous use of the machine is, it is operated by the QA staff and results are kept in-house for analytical results before the product is packed and shipped." Andy Moreno, Ph.D., Bacterial Surveillance Systems Engineer and Genetic Detection Systems Engineer at AME, emphasizes the importance of in-house testing. He says, “The big advantage of in-house testing is that the people doing the testing are the same ones who know the factory, the processes, and the products. They conduct it with an understanding of what is happening at every step. That leads to much more accurate and reliable results at a fraction of the traditional cost model.”