Thermo Fisher Scientific is aiming to support the quality of beverage products with the introduction of its SureTect Beverage Spoilage Multiplex qPCR Assay. The technology is an industry-first, all-in-one quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)-based test developed in collaboration with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, the company says. The assay offers early and accurate detection of spoilage organisms earlier in the production process and has wide applicability across the beverage testing industry, it adds. Microbial-spoilage-product recalls pose a risk to beverage-makers and affect quality, brand reputation and revenue. Moreover, Thermo Fisher notes that traditional contamination testing methods can take days and miss trouble-causing micro-organisms. The Thermo Scientific SureTect Beverage Spoilage Multiplex qPCR Assay can detect more than 100 strains of the most relevant spoilage micro-organisms within beverages, it says. “Product recalls don’t just impact the consumer — brands face both financial and reputational harm, making the true cost of a recall much more expensive than the product lost,” said Chris Armstrong, president of microbiology at Thermo Fisher, in a statement. “This qPCR-based assay is part of Thermo Fisher’s commitment to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer, and helps brands avoid risk, protect their customers and keep their products on shelves by providing a faster and more accurate result on their batch tests.” The company shares that, by testing for more micro-organisms in one assay, the kit enables cost efficiencies and improved environmental sustainability.  

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