• Microbial contamination is a major challenge in the food industry. Traditional microbial testing methods are slow, often taking days to produce results.
• Impedance flow cytometry, enables real-time, on-site microbial testing in a new, handheld format.
• CytoQuant^®, offered by Romer Labs, uses this technology to count viable microorganisms within 30 seconds, unaffected by sanitizer traces.
• This rapid testing method is applicable across different food industry sectors, addressing the universal need for speed and accuracy in ensuring production hygiene.

Microbial contamination remains one of the greatest challenges within the food industry. Whether the end product is fresh produce, ready-to-eat meats, or filleted fish, food processors and manufacturers must ensure that bacterial levels are minimized to safeguard both the consumer and the brand. Even today, a century since their introduction, microbial testing largely relies on slow culture-based methods, which often take several days to yield results. These delays - and the guesswork that can ensue - create an environment where quality or production managers may overuse sanitizers, or release products which are not safe for the consumers.

Recent advancements, however, have made real-time, on-site microbial testing feasible in an easy-to-use, handheld format. One of the most notable technologies enabling this is impedance flow cytometry, as embodied by CytoQuant^® - a portable instrument offered by Romer Labs. CytoQuant^® leverages the principles of impedance flow cytometry to directly count viable microorganisms within 30 seconds, without being influenced by traces of sanitizers and disinfectants.

This article explores how impedance flow cytometry works, why immediate direct microbial counts are a game-changer for the food industry, and how CytoQuant^® can be applied in 5 different scenarios. Each scenario highlights a distinct facet of the food industry - showing that, although these sectors differ in production style and target products, they share an overarching demand for speed and accuracy, given their need to ensure strict production hygiene.

Read the entire article here.