For over 26 years, the 3M™ Petrifilm™ Plate has been a trusted and standard microorganism testing tool for food processors throughout the world. 3M Food Safety have now launched 3M™ Petrifilm™ Aqua Plates, available immediately for testing bottled water, in beverage and food processing plants.

"We are excited to bring this product to the beverage bottling industry. For companies in this sector, this innovative method provides a new alternative testing process to traditional agar petri dishes," said Bob Young, senior technical service specialist, 3M Food Safety.

Containing a water-soluble gelling agent, nutrients and indicators, 3M Petrifilm Aqua Plates test for the four most common contaminates that threaten a company´s product:

• heterotrophic count
• coliforms
• yeast and mold
• and enterobacteriaceae.

Today´s beverage and food processors often produce their own agars or purchase premade dishes. Both practices require a large investment in employee time, excessive refrigeration space and unnecessary waste.

Bringing modern convenience to the water and beverage industries, 3M´s sample-ready plates replace conventional agar petri dishes by offering a reliable, simple way to assess product safety.

"The plates are easy to use and offer quality assurance professionals the opportunity to streamline their testing process. Results from third party testing have shown the 3M Petrifilm Aqua Plates perform similar to global standard methods. 3M Petrifilm Plates can save companies considerable time and money," said Eric Amann, global marketing development manager, 3M Food Safety.

Those working in the water and beverage industries face more rigorous safety regulations and increased quality expectations from customers every year. 3M´s Petrifilm Aqua Plates allow producers who make their own agar to experience consistent quality, ease of- use, and increased productivity, while creating less waste and using less storage space.

An industry study conducted with 292 food-processing plants demonstrated an 80 percent increase in technician productivity (tests per hour), saving companies an average of 3.7 hours per day of technician time. Consequently, the saved time can be redirected to more value-adding activities such as increased sampling, production monitoring and HACCP programming.

To learn more about purchasing or testing 3M Petrifilm Aqua Plates, visit www.3M.com/foodsafety or contact a customer care representative at 1-800-328-1671.