Hygiene tool provides dual results
provide personal care processors with more reliable
results, its manufacturer claims.
Strategic Diagnostics (SDI) said its Lumitester PD-10N/LuciPac W system uses unique enzymatic recycling technology that enables detection of both adenosine monophosphate (AMP) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP and AMP are the molecules that carry the energy in organic cells, and their detection indicates the presence of pathogens on personal care preparation surfaces. Duel detection is advantageous because of the unstable nature of ATP, which may not give a true indication of cleaning efficiencies, while AMP is a stable, persistent molecule with the ability to give users more precise, reproducible results. Tougher hygiene regulations and the high cost of failures in food safety are forces manufacturers to upgrade testing equipment in plants. Monitoring is an essential part of hygiene and critical control point (HACCP) planning now required by many food safety regulatory systems around the world. Orla Cloak, market development manager for food safety at SDI, said that cleaning a surface is the first line of defense against contamination. "Leaving even small amounts of biological material on food preparation surfaces can harbor bacteria, increase the rate of bacterial growth and increase the amount of cleaning chemical required to remedy the situation," she said. "There is great return on investment from a superior hygiene testing product." Accurate results are provided even when only small amount of residual biological material is present, claims SDI. This allows the user to take action to produce cleaner surfaces at a lower cost when appropriate cleaning methods are applied. Sterilized surfaces stay cleaner longer, cost less to maintain, and reduce the risk of inadvertent pathogen contamination. The Lumitester system sees residual biological material other methods can miss when cleaning chemicals interfere with the sample detection, the reagents used are detergent tolerant, the company claims. In addition to the personal market, hygiene monitoring is conducted in the food, beverage and environmental industries. Kikkoman will be distributing Lumitester systems in the US.
