Food Protection Trends - June 2010 - 348

Gold Sustaining Member Profile
Advancing Diagnostics to Improve Public Health ioMérieux is a leading international group specializing in the field of in vitro diagnostics. Through 39 subsidiaries and a large network of distributors, the company is present in more than 150 countries.
products. Alexandre Mérieux, the son of Alain Mérieux, leads this division, which has become number 1 worldwide in industrial microbiology. Innovations from bioMérieux bioMérieux’s innovations encompass a full range of manual and fully automated microbiology testing solutions, including prepared culture media, the API® and VITEK® 2 Compact identification systems, BacT/ALERT® 3D Microbial Detection System, and airIDEAL® environmental air sampling system.The extensive range of rapid screening tests provided on the VIDAS® automated pathogen detection system has recently been enhanced with a new assay kit for detecting E. coli O157:H7,VIDAS UP. This new kit has the most advanced technology available for food pathogen screening: phage recombinant proteins used for the targeted capture of bacteria and to isolate them in a sample. Increasing microbiology lab automation to enhance workflow is a strategic focus at bioMérieux. Additional automated systems include two key food safety solutions, TEMPO® and DiversiLab®. Based on a unique concept developed by bioMérieux, TEMPO is the first automated quality indicator testing system for the food industry. The system offers enumeration of quality indicators, which are vital in determining overall product hygiene. DiversiLab provides food companies with a rapid, easily implemented and automated bacterial strain typing method, an essential tool in tracking the source of microbial contamination. Rounding out the product portfolio is a distribution agreement with Elisa Systems, adding a full range of allergen tests. Food professionals are faced with unique challenges in a changing global market. bioMérieux is committed to educating its customers about advances in the field. The company has published the Food Safety Handbook: Microbiological Challenges, an overview of modern approaches to microbiological food safety. More than twenty internationally renowned experts contributed to chapters covering the key issues in food safety today. IAFP Gold Sustaining Member Over the years, bioMérieux has built relationships with customers and leaders in the food safety community, including the IAFP Foundation. As an IAFP Gold Sustaining Member, for several years, bioMérieux proudly promotes the Foundation’s endeavors to provide a global forum for technical exchange between all sectors of the food safety industry. bioMérieux strives not only to supply food safety and quality solutions for the food industry, but also to be a partner and educator with the food community in ensuring public health. bioMérieux’s food safety and quality solutions can be found at www.biomerieux-usa.com and www.biomerieuxindustry.com or by calling 800.634.7656.

TEMPO® System

ioMérieux 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 cardiovascular emergencies. They are also used for microbiological analysis of food, drug or air samples to monitor and confirm the quality of the production process and finished product. Microbiological analysis plays a crucial role in a changing global food market. Microbiological food safety is evolving due to ongoing changes in demographics, globalization, food products and processing, and food consumption patterns. These changes are also reflected in the transformation of the role of the microbiologist. Twenty years ago, the role of food microbiologists was limited and underestimated. Today, food microbiologists are at the forefront of food safety, anticipating the challenges generated in today’s global market. A Family History Rooted in Microbiology bioMérieux’s commitment to public health is rooted in its unique history. Marcel Mérieux worked with Louis Pasteur before founding Institut Mérieux in 1897 and starting off the century-long fight that his family has waged against infectious diseases. Under the leadership of Alain Mérieux, grandson of Marcel, Institut Mérieux became the world leader in human and veterinary vaccines (now evolved into two companies, Sanofi Pasteur and Mérial, no longer belonging to the family). In 1963, Alain Mérieux founded the diagnostics company known today as bioMérieux. Its launch from the field of clinical diagnostics soon led to the development of a new division, bioMérieux Industry, a pioneer in providing solutions to improve the safety and quality of food, biopharmaceutical and cosmetic

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Food Protection Trends - June 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Protection Trends - June 2010