EPIC Low Acid
Supporting Your Product Portfolio Expansion
Current market trends reflect a consumer demand that is shifting away from just pure dairy to now include non-dairy, plant based, nut based, and caffeinated beverages. To meet these demands, manufacturers must conquer a considerable learning curve and changes in processing and establishing new critical risk-based control points.
Offsetting Additional Risks Associated with New Processes
Not only are processes changing to produce low-acid products, but these developments also introduce new risk points concerning product integrity and consumer safety. From a microbiological standpoint, this trend is complicating the ability of manufacturers to recognize their microbial challenges, understand their limitations, and uphold safety standards. Critical monitoring of diverse low-acid products requires precise handling of risk points for microbiological and chemical hazards including allergens. In addition, frequent change-overs of product and packaging increases the risk of microbial contamination.
The Limitations of Conventional Microbiological Testing
Conventional microbial testing proves too slow to support modern just-in-time inventory management resulting in stalled delivery of these products to the marketplace. More critically, the time spent testing with traditional methods may not detect contamination events quickly enough to prevent costly product losses in extended production runs.
Most manufacturing facilities cannot afford the expense of keeping a microbiologist on staff. Without this skill level in place, there is significant room for error when performing and interpreting traditional microbial testing.
The Race Against Time
Utilizing a rapid microbial method results in a faster alert of a contamination event. In less than 48 hours you will be provided the invaluable opportunity to stop production and avoid greater losses. Hold times will be significantly reduced for confirmatory testing allowing for faster evaluation, segregation, and release of quarantined product.
