3M Food Safety have announced that its 3M™ Petrifilm™ Rapid Yeast and Mold Count Plate has been validated by AOAC INTERNATIONAL as a First Action Official Method of AnalysisSM (OMA method number 2014.05) for the detection of yeasts and molds within food products in as little as 48 hours.

AOAC facilitates consensus and technical standards for the analytical science communities. Food processor, university, government and contract testing laboratories around the world rely on AOAC-OMA validation rigor when choosing chemical, microbial and molecular biological testing methods. To be approved as an Official Method, tests are scrutinized by multiple, independent laboratories and subsequently reviewed by an Expert Review Panel. The full study conducted for the AOAC-OMA validation of the 3M Petrifilm Rapid Yeast and Mold Plate will be published in an upcoming edition of the Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL.

3M introduced the plate in September 2013 as a faster and superior indicator test alternative to conventional agar methods. The test is capable of incubating yeast and mold for easier quantification and interpretation in just 48 hours versus five to seven days, as with other methods. It also mitigates the erratic spreading of molds to facilitate clearer and more accurate colony counting.

“Yeast and mold testing has been a labor intensive, time consuming challenge for food producers for years, as they’ve often been forced to hold their finished goods until this final aspect of release testing is completed,” said Jason Semerad, global marketing manager, 3M Food Safety. “This latest validation demonstrates 3M’s continued commitment to providing fast, reliable, and accurate indicator tests that meet the most stringent industry requirements and gives our global customers additional confidence in using our new technology to support faster product release decisions, longer shelf lives and reduced inventory holding costs.”

The 3M Petrifilm Rapid Yeast and Mold Count Plate is part of a large portfolio of 3M™ Petrifilm™ Plate test technologies that has collectively become a worldwide standard due to its hallmark reliability, accuracy and simplicity in incubating, interpreting and enumerating growth colonies. The technology, especially useful for processors of grain, fruit/vegetables, ingredients and dairy products where yeast and mold control is crucial, has been rigorously tested to perform well on both low and high water activity foods.