Australasian Medical & Scientific (AMSL) has launched a kit for rapid detection of a variety of spoilage organisms that can affect beverages, especially juices.
The Hybriscan for Drinks kit screens for all major spoilage organism species in beverages and can detect these within three hours, the company says.
Various types of bacteria and yeast can cause off flavours in drinks and shorten the shelf life of product, leading to costly losses and recalls.
The Hybriscan for Drinks kit qualitatively tests for the presence of organisms such as Alicyclobacillus, Brettanomyces, Candida and Lactobacillus among others.
An assay takes around 2.5 hours after pre-enrichment and saves days compared to alternative methods, AMSL says. The test can also be run using only basic laboratory equipment, making it possible for most drinks manufacturers to test for these organisms in-house.
The test is based on RNA sandwich hybridisation, which means only living cells are detected, and much more specific results when compared to alternative methods.
