USDA adds bioMérieux TEMPO® System to Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook, the Standard-Setting Guideline for Food-Safety Testing in the U.S.

Durham, NC (March 19, 2015) — The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has incorporated the bioMérieux TEMPO® methodology into the Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook (MLG 3.02 since Jan. 5, 2015).

The 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.

The CDC estimates that each year, roughly 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of foodborne diseases.* Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention traced two large multi-state outbreaks of E. coli infections to contaminated meat products and produce.

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. - See more at: http://www.biomerieux-usa.com/industry/tempo#sthash.EwWxVqnH.dpuf

* Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden/2011-foodborne-estimates.html

About TEMPO®:

TEMPO® is part of bioMérieux Industry’s Food Microbiology Pathway Solution: From Sample to Decision. Standard laboratory procedures such as Media and Sample Preparation, Inoculation, Culture, Enumeration of Quality Indicators, Pathogen Detection and Decision require new approaches to increase efficiency and improve workflow. Through automation, TEMPO® takes the traditional, labor-intensive MPN method and standardizes numerous analytical steps, improving the laboratory workflow. bioMérieux’s food safety solutions, including the TEMPO® system, allow for faster, more confident decision making through connectivity of the instruments and simplification of the analysis process, enabling food companies to manage the quality and safety of their production.

For more information visit http://www.biomerieux-industry.com.

About bioMérieux

Pioneering Diagnostics

A world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics for 50 years, bioMérieux is present in more than 150 countries through 42 subsidiaries and a large network of distributors. In 2014, revenues reached €1.698 billion with 88% of sales outside of France.

bioMérieux provides diagnostic solutions (reagents, instruments, software) which determine the source of disease and contamination to improve patient health and ensure consumer safety. Its products are used for diagnosing infectious diseases and providing high medical value results for cancer screening and monitoring and cardiovascular emergencies. They are also used for detecting microorganisms in agri-food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. bioMérieux is listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris market (Symbol: BIM – ISIN: FR0010096479).

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