Overview
Demeter™ is an innovative system for food microbiology lab testing that offers improved lab productivity, increased test accuracy, and greater sample traceability. Demeter™ automates media preparation steps in the food testing process. There’s nothing else like it on the market.
Highlights
Demeter™ uses the patented Heateflex heating coil, used to heat the sterilized test water. Power is 9.6kW, 208 VAC, 3-ph, 27 amp. Demeter™ dispenses heated water at 203ºF (95ºC), with an accuracy of +/- 2ºC. Test dispenses may be programmed for 90 mL to 4L, with up to 16 recipes available.
Increase Testing Flexibility, Productivity, and Accuracy
Demeter™ offers lab technicians the flexibility to run multiple tests using different test media. Demeter™ heats and precisely dispenses sterilized water into food lab testing containers containing test media. Demeter™ enables testing labs to improve lab productivity and eliminate the autoclave step in the testing sequence by dispensing heated sterilized water directly into pre-sterilized test media in test containers. This approach allows food labs to greatly increase testing throughput. Regardless of whether a lab uses pre-sterilized media or bulk media, Demeter™ precisely dispenses each and every test sample, which significantly improves test accuracy, and minimizes test-to-test variability.
Features & Benefits
- Automatically dispense sterile water with high precision, accuracy, and traceability for temperature and volume
- Increase lab throughput with quick, high capacity performance
- Procedural time savings entering the incubator at incubation temperature
- Sterilization of components prevents bacteria growth through 3 methods: heat, UV, and filtration
- Documented traceability throughout the system streamlines the audit procedure for yearly ISO 17025:2005 lab inspection
- Lab-specific customization through programmable recipes
- Volumetric dispense accuracy with secondary weight confirmation
System Process
Demeter™ tests for three common food pathogens: e coli, listeria, and salmonella. Operators can program Demeter™ for up to 16 separate media recipes, and test dispenses from 90 mL to 4 L. Three methods of sterilization-heat, UV treatment, and filtration-ensure that there’s no bacteria present in the testing process. Test results are highly traceable. The system features a bar code scanner that records sample information from each test, and can connect to a lab information management system (LIMS) to streamline the record keeping needed to maintain lab accreditation per ISO 17025:2005 standards.
Read this Food Quality & Safety magazine article to learn how a food testing lab uses Demeter™ systems to increase their testing productivity.
Demeter™ Videos
Demeter™ System Introduction
Demeter™ Improves Workflows
Applications
Ideal applications include environmental, food microbiology, and food manufacturing QA/QC labs conducting pathogens testing for the following:
- e coli 0157:H7
- Listeria
- Salmonella
Demeter™ assists in automating media preparation with many media reagents, including the following:
- BPW- Buffered Peptone Water
- BPBW- Butterfield’s Phosphate Buffered Dilution Water
- TSB- Trypicase Soy Broth
- LB- Lactose Broth
- Fraser Broth
Get QuoteHeateflex Distributors
Specifications
| Heater | Patented Heateflex heating coil |
|---|---|
| Power | 9.6 kW, 208 VAC, 3-ph, 27 amp |
| Dispense capability | 90 mL- 4L |
| Temperature | 203ºF (95ºC) |
| Temperature Accuracy | +/- 2ºC (dependent on customer’s facilitation) |
| Dispense accuracy | +/- 2% |
| Scale accuracy | +/- 1% |
| Filtration | 3 filters, final filtration to 0.2 μm |
| UV lamp | 254 nm |
| Recipes | 16 recipes/dispenses for volume and heat |
| Thermocouple | NIST traceable |
| Communications | Non-volatile data storage for the 100 most recent dispenses; interface to LIMS |