Metallized Carbon Corporation, a manufacturer of oil-free, self-lubricating, carbon-graphite materials for severe service lubrication applications, announces that its Metcar Grade M-58 has received approval from the FDA so that it can be used in food contact applications.

Metallized Carbon Corporation, a manufacturer of oil-free, self-lubricating, carbon-graphite materials for severe service lubrication applications, announces that its Metcar Grade M-58 has received approval from the FDA so that it can be used in food contact applications.  This will permit the use of Metcar Grade M-58 in dry running, food mixer seals to provide lower seal friction and longer seal wear life.  For pharmaceutical applications, there are several Metcar Grades that have passed the tests required for U.S. Pharmacopeia Class VI approved materials.

Dry running mechanical seals are used on large, vertical mixers to seal the clearance between the agitator shaft and the mixer housing at the location where the shaft enters the top of the mixer. Primary seal ring wear life has been a problem with these mechanical seals because they must run dry with high shaft run-out.

Metcar grade M-58 is an electro graphite base material that contains a special additive to reduce friction and improve the dry running wear rate. Available fully machined to the customer’s drawing specifications, Metcar Grade M-58 primary seal rings can be used in temperatures between -30o and 800 o F.

It is anticipated that Metcar Grade M-58 will also be useful in many other machine part applications where an FDA approved, self-lubricating material, with low friction and long wear life is required. For FDA approved bearings, seal rings, vanes, rotors, end plates, piston rings, valve seats and other machine parts that must run submerged in beverages or liquefied foods, Metcar carbon-graphite grades that are impregnated with thermal setting resin, copper, tin bronze or nickel chrome are used.

The Sani Professional Food Safety Advisory Council (SPFSAC) has added three new board members: Chirag Bhatt of Bloomin' Brands Inc., Hal King, CEO/Founder, Public Health Innovations LLC and Michael Moomjian of P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Inc.

The Sani Professional Food Safety Advisory Council  (SPFSAC) has added  three new board members. Joining Mick Miklos, of the National Restaurant Association, Clement Saseun, of DineEquity, Belicia Parga of Whataburger and Stefano Caliguiri of MGM Resorts and Chair of the Nevada Food Safety Task Force are Chirag Bhatt of Bloomin' Brands Inc., Hal King, CEO/Founder, Public Health Innovations LLC and Michael Moomjian of P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Inc..

Chirag Bhatt has been involved in the food safety industry for more than 30 years. After a 26 year tenure working with the Houston Health Department's food safety inspection program he worked with a custom software company as a VP, Food Safety and Client Consulting.  In July 2012, Chirag joined Bloomin' Brands as their Global Regulatory Compliance Manager. He is responsible for making sure that the Bloomin' Brands restaurants comply with the local/state and federal food safety requirements.  Bloomin' Brands has more than 1500 locations that include Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, and Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar).  Chirag holds a Bachelor's degree in Biology and Chemistry. He also holds several key memberships in the food safety industry - NEHA, AFDO, IAFP, NRA, NCCR and CFP. He is a registered sanitarian with the state of Texas and also holds -- Certified Comprehensive Food Safety credential from NEHA. Currently, Chirag serves as Chair for National Restaurant Association Quality Assurance Executive Study Group. Chirag also serves on the Educational Advisory Board with the Food Safety Summit.

Hal King is founder/CEO of Public Health Innovations LLC, a new company that consults and partners with the foodservice industry in the design and development of intervention strategies to prevent diseases in the food industry, in healthcare, in schools, and in other public environments.  King, a public health professional has worked in the investigation of foodborne and other diseases (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U. S. Public Health Service), performed funded research on causation of diseases (Emory University School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases), worked in the prevention of intentional adulteration of foods (U.S. Army Reserves Consequence Management Unit), and worked in the design and implementation of preventative controls for food safety hazards in the food industry.  Previously, King was the Director of Food and Product Safety at Chick-fil-A Inc. (a national restaurant chain with over 1,920 units)  He led and implemented Chick-fil-A's food safety management program.  Additionally, King is past Chairman of the National Restaurant Association Quality Assurance Executive Study Group, past board member on the FDA and CDC Industry Partnerships.  He co-authored several food safety articles including two research publications on new systems for produce safety in retail, and is the author of the book, Food Safety Management: Implementing a Food Safety Program in a Food Retail Business (Springer).

Michael Moomjian is a Quality Assurance and Food Safety professional with almost 20 years of progressive experience in the food industry at the QA, food safety, and nutrition, R&D, manufacturing, and purchasing levels.  He is currently the Director of Quality Assurance and Food Safety for P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Inc., a 462 unit full service and fresh casual chain, consisting of the P.F. Chang's, Pei Wei, and True Foods brands.  Moomjian received his B.S. degree in Food Science from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.  Prior to P.F. Chang's, he served in various QA/Purchasing/Nutritional roles at several multi-unit national chains including Boston Market, Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill, CKE Restaurants, and Jack-In-The-Box.

Sani Professional, the food safety division of Professional Disposables International (PDI), and the Sani Professional Food Safety Advisory Council continue to recognize the critical nature of food safety in today's broader foodservice industry. It seems weekly there is an outbreak of one foodborne illness or another from restaurants to food processing facilities.  The SPFSAC is dedicated to raising awareness of best practices in the prevention of foodborne illness across a broad spectrum of foodservice operations and food processing facilities via education and solution support. 

A Nielsen Global New Product Innovation Survey found that respondents in developing markets are both more inclined to try new products, and lead the way in self-reported purchasing.

Globally, more than six-in-ten respondents (63%) say they like when manufacturers offer new products, and more than half (57%) say they purchased a new product during their last grocery shopping trip. But while consumers across the globe are enthusiastic about new products, their purchasing patterns vary widely. In fact, the Nielsen Global New Product Innovation Survey found that respondents in developing markets are both more inclined to try new products, and lead the way in self-reported purchasing. More than half of respondents in Asia-Pacific (69%), Africa/Middle East (57%) and Latin America (56%) say they purchased a new product during their last grocery-shopping trip, compared with 44% of European and 31% of North American respondents.

The survey classified adopters into three groups: early adopters (the first to purchase new products); mainstream consumers (adopt new products at the same time as the majority of their peers); and late breakers (among the last to purchase). We found that out of 11 markets with the highest percentage of early adopters, nine are developing countries.

Read the full story at Neilsen.com.

Roka Bioscience's Atlas Listeria Environmental Detection Assay (Atlas LE Assay) has received AOAC Performance Tested MethodsSM certification from the AOAC Research Institute (AOAC-RI). The assay is approved for the detection of Listeria spp.

Roka Bioscience's Atlas Listeria Environmental Detection Assay (Atlas LE Assay) has received AOAC Performance Tested MethodsSM certification from the AOAC Research Institute (AOAC-RI). The assay is approved for the detection of Listeria spp. (including Listeria monocytogenes, Listeria innocua, Listeria welshimeri, Listeria ivanovii, Listeria seeligeri, and Listeria grayi) from environmental surfaces (stainless steel grade 316, plastic (PVC), and sealed concrete) after a 24-hour enrichment.

The independent laboratory study testing was conducted by Marshfield Food Safety as part of the AOAC-RI independent third-party evaluation and validation processes. "With recent events involving Listeria outbreaks we believe that environmental testing plays an important role for food safety," said Mary Duseau, Roka chief commercial officer.

Roka Bioscience is a molecular diagnostics company focused on developing and commercializing advanced testing solutions for the food safety testing market. Our Atlas Detection Assays incorporate our advanced molecular technologies and are performed on our "sample-in, result-out" Atlas System that automates all aspects of molecular diagnostic testing on a single, integrated platform. The Atlas System and Detection Assays are designed to provide our customers with accurate and rapid test results with reduced labor costs and improved laboratory efficiencies.  For more information, visit http://rokabio.com.

The AOAC Research Institute (AOAC-RI), a subsidiary of AOAC International in Rockville, Md., has granted a method extension for the DuPont BAX System real-time PCR assays for Listeria to include validation of a new proprietary enrichment media. This method can return Listeria results in 22 hours for some matrices.

The AOAC Research Institute (AOAC-RI), a subsidiary of AOAC International in Rockville, Md., has granted a method extension for the DuPont BAX System real-time PCR assays for Listeria to include validation of a new proprietary enrichment media. This method can return Listeria results in 22 hours for some matrices.

The AOAC-RI method allows customers to perform a single-stage, 20-26 hour enrichment (sample-dependent) in FoodChek Actero Listeria Enrichment Media, followed by rapid real-time processing with the DuPont BAX System. The extension includes detection of both Listeria species (AOAC-RI Performance Tested Method #081401) and L. monocytogenes (AOAC-RI Performance Tested Method #121402) and has been tested in frankfurters, shrimp, smoked salmon, spinach and queso fresco, as well as on stainless steel, plastic and sealed concrete surfaces.

“Enriching food samples in Actero™ Listeria Enrichment media allows laboratories to use about 33 percent less media per sample than other methods,” said FoodChek Chairman, President and CEO William Hogan. “This not only results in less waste disposal during the testing process, but also helps improve the financial bottom line for food companies and commercial testing laboratories alike.”

The DuPont BAX System provides automated testing for foodborne pathogens, spoilage organisms and other microbes in raw ingredients, finished products, and manufacturing environments. The system breaks down samples at the genetic level using the power of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), then uses target-specific primers to automatically detect the presence or absence of the target bacterial DNA and provide clear yes-or-no results