bioMerieux's New TEMPO® Solution Delivers Rapid Enumeration of Yeast and Molds

bioMerieux is enhancing its TEMPO® line for food quality with the launch of one of the most rapid automated solutions for direct enumeration of yeast and mold. TEMPO YM delivers final results in half the time versus most other methods, including the ISO reference method
(ISO 21527).

A major challenge for the food industry, yeast and mold can cause the spoilage of any type of food product, affecting its organoleptic and commercial quality (taste, smell, visual aspect).

Some types of mold, such as Aspergillus, may also produce toxins that have an adverse effect on humans. "With TEMPO YM, bioMerieux is now the first and only to offer the agri-food industry a complete automated menu of routine tests for monitoring food hygiene," stated Alexandre Merieux, bioMerieux Corporate Vice President, Industrial Microbiology. "The automated system contributes to faster food product releases, saving analysis time and delivering standardized results."

The agri-food industry routinely enumerates microbial flora, which indicates the microbiological load in the entire production process, from raw materials to finished products. These quality indicators are of major importance in establishing a HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) approach and guaranteeing the commercial value of food products from the time they leave the factory to their expiry date.

Quality indicators routinely enumerated usually are: total count, total coliforms, Enterobacteriaceae, E. coli, S. aureus, yeast and molds. Lactic Acid Bacteria is also routinely tested on certain food products. TEMPO provides testing capabilities for all of these quality indicators.

The fully automated TEMPO system offers ease of use and fast turnaround time for accurate
and standardized results, as well as easier stock management compared to traditional methods.

Most of the TEMPO tests are internationally approved by official organizations such as AOAC
INTERNATIONAL (Formerly the Association of Official Analytical Chemists) and AFNOR
CERTIFICATION according to ISO 16140 international rules. TEMPO TVC, for Total Viable
Count testing, recently received Official Method Approval (OMA^SM) from the globally recognized AOAC INTERNATIONAL.