The Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook (MLG) provides best practices for analytical testing and procedures to ensure the optimal safety of the U.S. food supply. Inclusion in the MLG is a very positive benchmark for bioMérieux’s TEMPO technology —a highly sensitive and automated system that enumerates microbiological contaminants in the food supply, including E. coli and a variety of other bacteria, yeasts and molds that contaminate beef, chicken and pork.

USDA-FSIS screens more than 11,000 samples of raw meat and poultry annually. One of the most labor-intensive laboratory procedures is the Most Probable Number (MPN) test for detection and enumeration of microorganisms. By automating this routine process with TEMPO, laboratories like those within FSIS can save analysis time, reduce their operational costs, eliminate the need for manual plate counting, and dedicate more resources to testing pathogens of importance to public health.

The inclusion of the TEMPO System into the USDA MLG is the second significant milestone for this technology in the last two years in the USA. In 2013, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) installed TEMPO units at each of its three regional testing centers: St. Louis, MO, Athens, GA, and Alameda, CA., as part of its national food-safety screening network.

“Foodborne illness and food contamination have become major public health and economic concerns worldwide,” said Nicolas Cartier, Corporate Vice-President, bioMérieux Industry Unit. “The adoption of TEMPO by USDA FSIS is an important recognition of our ongoing commitment to bring to agri-food manufacturers, state-of-the-art technology for monitoring food hygiene.”

TEMPO automates food quality testing for total viable counts, coliform counts, generic E. coli, and Enterobacteriaceae, lactic acid bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, and yeasts/molds. Enumeration of these organisms is important to a food quality laboratory for determining overall product hygiene and also as an indication of product spoilage.

To find out more on TEMPO, visit bioMerieux website.