3M Food Safety today released its enhanced 3M Clean-Trace Hygiene Monitoring and Management System. The system is the outcome of years of research, testing and customer feedback, all meant to provide food processors greater confidence and peace of mind.

Food safety managers need rapid testing to quickly and dependably identify potential contamination in their facilities and make the high-risk decision about whether or not to start production. Typical microbial tests take days to deliver a clear result, delaying food production release and shipments. Mere visual inspection is not enough because microorganisms and many soils are invisible to the naked eye. The new 3M Clean-Trace System offers food safety professionals a complete system of products consisting of a luminometer handheld device, compatible tests and a powerful new software platform, to verify that surfaces have been effectively cleaned in seconds, for better decision making and audit preparedness.

To build a system that aligns with industry wants and needs, 3M Food Safety interviewed and observed hundreds of food manufacturing professionals – from technicians on the plant floor to executives in the C-suite – across functions such as sanitation, quality, plant and lab management. The result elevates the capabilities of an already market-leading technology in three key areas:

• Optical technology – The system was reengineered with photomultiplier detectors, the gold standard in medical devices, medical imaging, aerospace and other fields of science, to improve efficiency;
• Software – The 3M Clean-Trace Hygiene Monitoring and Management Software was upgraded for enhanced usability. A new, streamlined dashboard interface presents information where eyes gravitate to, minimizes clicking and allows reports to be quickly generated.
• Wireless connectivity – The system is now wireless-enabled, capable of transferring data via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth Technology connections. Information transmits between the handheld luminometer and the software.
• Industrial design – The 3M Clean-Trace Luminometer was improved to be more durable, ergonomic and easy to use.

“Certainly there is a heightened public sensitivity for food quality, resulting in more internal and external controls and reporting. There’s been an abundance of new regulations, whether that’s the rollout of the U.S. FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act or other rules,” said Tom Dewey, 3M Food Safety global marketing manager. “We involved customers throughout the development and design of the entire system to automate and streamline what is in many cases a tedious, manual process of selecting test points, assigning them daily, conducting tests, documenting results, managing sample plans, and developing quality improvement measures.”

When it comes to accuracy, the previous-generation of the 3M Clean-Trace Hygiene Monitoring and Management System was tested by a third-party lab and was shown to produce the most precise, consistent results across time and temperature and between swabs, when compared with several major competing brands. The all-new system builds on the quality of the current system. It represents just one of many innovative solutions from 3M Food Safety that provides food producers trustworthy data and peace of mind when making important product manufacturing and release decisions.

Go to 3M.com/foodsafety/Clean-Trace to learn more or follow us on Twitter @3MFoodSafety.