Heateflex introduces Demeter media preparation system for food microbiology labs
Automated system increases lab throughput, improves testing accuracy and traceability
Heateflex, a US specialist in high-purity industrial heating systems, has added Demeter to its portfolio, which streamlines the media preparation process in commercial food-testing labs.
Demeter automates the traditionally manual, dehydrated media reagent preparation step in a lab for increased testing throughput and accuracy.
The system also records the precise volumetric amounts and temperatures (NIST traceable) used in a test, then feeds that information into a laboratory information management system (LIMS), streamlining recordkeeping for regulatory compliance.
Testing for pathogens in food labs has historically been a slow, manual process, with risks of human errors. Long incubation times are typically required for media preparation, and the use of autoclaves at various steps in the process is both time-consuming and expensive. Food-testing labs are also required to conduct yearly compliance inspections in order to be ISO 17025:2005 certified, a process that has historically been paper-based and cumbersome. In addition, the Food Safety Modernisation Act recently passed into law requires additional regulations for documentation, food testing and accreditation in the food-testing industry.
The Demeter system saves time in a number of ways. Since the Demeter-dispensed DI water is sterilised through filtration and dispensed at incubation temperature, the autoclave step for sterilisation may be skipped here. Demeter is also self-sterilising, further delivering long-term benefits in cost reduction. To save time in record keeping, the system incorporates a bar-code scanner subsystem that records sample data for interface with a LIMS, streamlining the recordkeeping required for yearly compliance with ISO 17025:2005 regulations. The system has a printer that produces a label for pasting into lab notebooks, and a flash drive for recording the most recent test results, with nonvolatile storage as a backup.
Heateflex says the first-generation Demeter system has been successfully integrated into a number of microbiological food-testing labs across the US, and has been shown to deliver up to a 10x increase in sample process throughput. It is also applicable for integration into microbiological environmental and water-testing lab operations.
