Neogen's Soleris® Yeast and Mold Test now AOAC Approved

Neogen Corporation has received approval from the AOAC Research Institute for its rapid and accurate test to directly detect yeast and mold in a variety of food matrices, such as dressings, sauces, pet food, dairy products, fruit and vegetable based products, as well as nutraceuticals.

Neogen's newly approved Soleris® Direct Yeast and Mold (DYM) test produces accurate results in only 48 hours; conventional yeast and mold methods can take up to five days. This new test is designed for use in the Soleris rapid microbiology system, which accelerates and monitors microbial growth for faster time to results.

'The Soleris yeast and mold test was shown to produce rapid and accurate results-allowing for quicker product releases that improve profitability,' said Neogen's Joe Heinzelmann. 'Yeasts and molds are unique, as they represent a large and diverse group of microorganisms that can cause various degrees of deterioration and decomposition of foods. It is estimated that tests for yeasts and molds comprise as much as 15% of all microbiological tests performed worldwide. Soleris DYM enables food companies to ensure the quality and shelf-life of a wide variety of food products and provides advantages that allow companies to reduce costs through improved efficiency.'

The Soleris DYM test offers significant time savings of up to three days over the reference procedure while also reducing the amount of technician labor required. The AOAC approval allows Safe Quality Food (SQF) companies to comply with testing requirements for rapid yeast and mold assays.

A variety of representative commodities were tested in the validation including: nonfat dry milk, ice cream mix, salad dressing, yogurt, dried fruit, orange juice concentrate, tomato juice, corn fl our, cocoa powder, dry pet food, and black pepper, and the test should perform well on similar food matrices.

The Soleris DYM test expands a portfolio of rapid indicator tests that are AOAC approved including:

• Total Viable Count results in 24 hours; conventional methods take 48 hours or longer.


• E. coli results in 7-10 hours; conventional methods take 24 hours or longer.


• Coliform results in 9-10 hours; conventional methods take 24 hours.

The Soleris test method for lactic bacteria produces results in 30-35 hours; conventional methods take 3-5 days.