Bibby Sterilin's brand new Active Packaging has been specially developed for the Sterilin range of transport swabs which are widely used in clinical, pharmaceutical and food microbiology laboratories. Using state of the art technology, the new packaging system maintains product freshness and integrity, giving a guaranteed 15-month shelf life.

During product assembly, the swab packages are vacuum-sealed and then injected with nitrogen. This creates a controlled, reduced environment inside each pouch which stabilises the transport medium at the low Eh essential for fastidious bacteria. Offering important technical benefits over traditional porous paper-plastic film packaging, Sterilin's new plastic film-film pouch is totally waterproof, preventing contamination of the sterile contents by condensation or accidental contact with moist or wet surfaces. The novel 5-layer laminated plastic film also retards the penetration of atmospheric oxygen, preventing media oxidation, evaporation and dehydration.