Worthing, UK – 27th January 2014 – Seward Ltd., manufacturers of the world leading range of Stomacher® paddle blenders and Stomacher® accessories used in sample preparation for microbiological analyses, have highlighted the highly effective use of its Stomacher technology in combination with sponge swabs for hygiene monitoring and biosecurity applications.
Hygiene monitoring in food and pharmaceutical production facilities and clinical environments requires simple sampling techniques with excellent microbial recovery rates across a spectrum of different species. A recent study [1] has confirmed the effectiveness of the combined sponge swab and Stomacher sampling methodology for sampling a large surface area.
This popular sampling method utilises sponge swabs pre-dosed with buffer to swab a surface and then, to recover the micro flora, the sponge swabs are processed in the Stomacher® 400 Circulator. A number of suppliers offer pre-manufactured devices such as 3M® and Technical Services Consultants Ltd, which work very effectively in Stomacher products. Various different approaches can be applied, processing either pooled samples in the Stomacher® 400 or individual swabs in the Stomacher® 80 Biomaster.
Due to the efficacy of the Stomacher and sponge swab combination, it has also been adopted in more critical fields such as biosecurity. Security services on both sides of the Atlantic have recently adopted the technique to detect and monitor the potential spread of weaponised bacterial contaminates such as Bacillus anthracis.
The effectiveness of the sponge and Stomacher technique over the swab technique for sample collection is demonstrated in a recent paper [1] concerning the clinical environment and the monitoring of Acinetobacter baumannii. The sponge and Stomacher technique allows for a greater surface area to be tested than achievable with a swab head.
This also means that the sponge method delivers greater sensitivity.
For more information on Seward, please visit www.seward.co.uk.
Reference 1: Thom K.A. et al.. Comparison of swab and sponge methodologies for identification of Acinetobacter baumannii from the hospital environment. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 2012, 50(6):2140.
About Seward Limited - www.seward.co.uk
Seward manufactures the world leading range of Stomacher® paddle blenders and Stomacher® accessories used in sample preparation for microbiological analyses. The company has been manufacturing and developing the world renown and patented Stomacher® Lab Blender for 40 years. The original and still regarded as the best, over 8 million food samples a day are prepared on Stomacher® 400 paddle blender units around the world.
In addition to sample preparation for food safety analyses, within the bioscience market the new developments of the Stomacher® 80 and micro 80 are proving invaluable for safe and efficient sample processing. The Stomacher® 3500 has established itself as the instrument of choice for preparing samples for the new pathogen test protocols requiring jumbo size samples.
The company is based in Worthing, West Sussex, UK with subsidiaries in the USA and Singapore. All Seward machine products are manufactured within the UK and 1 of its 3 worldwide Stomacher® bag manufacturing operations is also UK-based. This ensures control of quality and price to deliver excellent value to global trading partners and laboratory customers.
Seward Limited continues to develop the product range, now with 3 patents to its credit. Stomacher® is the most highly referenced brand name in food safety and life science sample preparation in scientific publications. The company also assists customers with method development through reference searches and sample evaluations within its own development laboratory.
The original and still the best. The Stomacher® - a Seward product trade name.
Seward contact details:
Europe, Middle East and ROW: +44 (0) 1903 823077; info@seward.co.uk
US & Canada: +1 772 621 8220; info@sewardusa.com
Asia and Pacific: +65 6519 2283; stevenlim@seward.co.uk
Help employers find you! Check out all the jobs and post your resume.
