Michael Wasmann, general manger for Aes Chemunex, Germany told FoodProductionDaily.com that the Bacti Flow Automatic Labelling System (ALS) enables real-time Total Viable Count (TVC) analysis of meat in-house, thus eliminating the need for processors to send samples to an external laboratory.

"The equipment is comparable to the cost of external shipment analysis. However, the gains for the processor are in-process control and a testing time of 90 minutes as opposed to five days with the older method," said Wasmann.

Leverage on quality

According to Food Production Daily, TVC analysis of raw meat can indicate the presence of bacteria, yeast and moulds in the product before it enters and is accepted into production.

"The tool also gives meat processors greater leverage with suppliers as they can determine the quality of the meat immediately following delivery and can then negotiate prices accordingly," added Wasmann.

The Bacti Flow ALS has been widely used for microbiological testing of juice, dairy and fermented milk products. However, the company trialed and validated the tool as effective for usage with raw and final meat product analysis, following a demand from a meat processor in Germany, according to Wasmann.