3M Food Safety has launched the 3M™ Petrifilm™ Rapid Yeast and Mold Count Plate, an indicator test that enables the detection of yeasts and molds in as little as 48 hours. This new plate offers food processors a simplified solution for inoculation along with an easy, consistent way to interpret and enumerate colonies.

Conventional agar testing methods for yeast and molds require a five- to seven-day incubation period, the longest waiting time of all microbial quality indicators. By incorporating innovative new technology, the 3M Petrifilm Rapid Yeast and Mold Count Plate improves time-to-result, productivity gains, finished goods inventory and product shelf life.

The sample-ready system uses an easy three-step process: Inoculation, Incubation and enumeration. With a reduced incubation time of as little as 48 hours along with the flexibility of incubation at 25° C or 28° C, 3M's new solution enables clearer, easier and faster-than-ever colony enumeration. The 3M Petrifilm Rapid Yeast and Mold Count Plate results in blue-colored yeast and mold colonies and contains technological enhancements that prevent colonies from spreading or overlapping, providing superior interpretation.

The technology has been rigorously tested to perform well on both low and high water-activity foods, and will be especially useful for processors of grain, fruit, and dairy products for which yeast and mold control is particularly important. In addition to foods, the 3M Petrifilm Rapid Yeast and Mold Count Plate can also be used for air, swab or surface contact environmental testing. Food processors can obtain a quantitative assessment of both yeast and molds together, or as a separate count by visually differentiating between the two forms of fungi.

3M Food Safety | 888.364.3577 | www.3M.com/foodsafety/RapidYeastAndMold