Q Laboratories Blog

Determining Antimicrobial Effectiveness

March 9, 2018 No Comments

An antimicrobial or preservative is defined as a chemical agent that will kill or inhibit the growth of microorganisms. Common antimicrobials utilized in drug, OTC, cosmetic, and personal care products include parabens, alcohols, and quaternary ammonium compounds. Antimicrobial Effectiveness Testing (AET) also known as Preservative Efficacy Testing (PET) is microbial challenge methodology performed to assure

Q Laboratories Partners with Bruker on New Official Methods Approvals

February 20, 2018 No Comments

MALDI Biotyper® Receives AOAC International Approvals Q Laboratories served as the lead laboratory for two studies gaining AOAC-Official Methods of Analysis (OMA) Status for the Bruker MALDI BioTyper® (MBT): Confirmation and Identification of Salmonella spp, Cronobacter spp. and Other Gram Negative Organisms by MBT Method (OMA#2017.09) and Confirmation and Identification of Listeria monocytogenes, Listeria spp. and

Q Laboratories Authors Legionella Piece

January 29, 2018 No Comments

Q Laboratories published an article on developing a water management plan in healthcare facilities in a recent issue of McKinght’s Long-term Care News. Click here to read the article

Jeffrey Rowe Featured on Podcast

January 25, 2018 No Comments

Q Laboratories’ President and CEO Jeffrey Rowe was featured on the “What Works for Biz” podcast entitled “Why Treat Employees Like Owners.” You can listen to the podcast here Jeff discusses principles from his book, “Just Do These Few Things: How to Find and Develop Exceptional Talent, Share the Wealth, and Build a Great Company

New USP Elemental Impurities Chapters Near Implementation

November 14, 2017 No Comments

On January 1, 2018, USP/NF Chapter 231 on Heavy Metals will be shuttled and new chapters 232, 233 and 2232 on Elemental Impurities will be implemented. What does this mean? It means that the century-old qualitative colorimetric test for the presence of Heavy Metals has been replaced by considerably more sophisticated methods (ICP-OES and ICP-MS)

Q Laboratories Opens Food Virus Lab

September 12, 2017 No Comments

Q Laboratories has opened a state-of-the-art Food Virus Detection Laboratory at their Cincinnati, Ohio location. Utilizing Real-Time PCR technology, Q Laboratories can test food, water, environmental swabs, and food surface swabs for the presence of Norovirus (GI and GII) and Hepatitis A. The lab was purpose-built specifically for virus detection, involving a three-room dirty to

Erin Crowley Named Fellow of Prestigious Scientific Organization

August 29, 2017 No Comments

Q Laboratories’ Chief Scientific Officer Erin Crowley has been selected as a Fellow of AOAC® International. She will be presented with the honor during the Awards Ceremony on September 25th at the upcoming AOAC International Annual Meeting and Exposition in Atlanta. Erin is has served AOAC® International in many capacities and is currently Chair of

Q Laboratories Featured on Business Watch Program

August 16, 2017 No Comments

This segment noting the rapid growth of Q Laboratories was broadcast on the US Bank Business Watch Program on WKRC-TV. The program is a presented by the Cincinnati Business Courier.

Healthcare Facilities Pose Particular Risk of Legionella Infections

July 27, 2017 No Comments

Responding to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report indicating Legionnaires’ Disease (LD) kills 25% of those who are infected while getting treatment or residing in a healthcare facility, the Department of Health & Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), on June 2, 2017, released a memorandum entitled, “Requirement to

Q Laboratories Purchases Buildings

July 19, 2017 No Comments

Q Laboratories has purchased two buildings (1920 and 1930 Radcliff Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio) as part of their ongoing capacity expansion project. The two buildings sit adjacent to the 30,000 sq. ft. laboratory building currently under construction, scheduled to be completed in Spring 2018. The newly-acquired buildings entail 25,000 sq. ft., and will eventually serve as

When Do I Need a Method Verification?

June 22, 2017 No Comments

In this age of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) it is increasingly important that the methods you (or your third-party lab) are using are validated by a recognized organization. Methods contained in the FDA Bacteriological Analytical Manual (FDA-BAM), the USDA-FSIS Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook, as well as methods approved by independent, non-governmental bodies such as

Summertime Weather Turns Consumers’ Thoughts to Sunscreen

April 21, 2017 No Comments

As the weather warms and the sun peeks out from behind the clouds, thoughts turn to outdoor activities and enjoying the pleasant weather. What follows is the inevitable need for sunscreen/sunblock products to help keep consumers and their families safe. This requires sunscreen product manufacturers to perform due diligence to assure the products they place

Minimum Inhibitory (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) Evaluations as R&D Tools

March 14, 2017 No Comments

The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) is defined as the lowest concentration of an antimicrobial ingredient or agent that is bacteriostatic (prevents the visible growth of bacteria). MICs are used to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of various compounds by measuring the effect of decreasing concentrations of antibiotic/antiseptic over a defined period in terms of inhibition of

Q Laboratories, Inc. Approved for Legionella Sampling and Testing

March 8, 2017 No Comments

Q Laboratories is now an HC Information Resources Inc. (hcinfo.com) approved Legionella Sampling and Testing Service Provider. Q Laboratories, Inc. can design a legionella sampling plan for businesses implementing a building water management plan for legionella control, or evaluate existing plans with building managers. Q Laboratories, Inc. analysts are trained in collection and sampling of

Environmental Monitoring Design Utilizing the Zone Concept

February 21, 2017 No Comments

With the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), as well as the recently released FDA Guidance on controlling Listeria monocytogenes in RTE foods, it is more important than ever to have a carefully designed, robust Environmental Monitoring (EM) program in your food manufacturing plant. Effective design of your EM program is essential to

Q Laboratories, Inc. Now Offers 3-day Yeast and Mold Results

February 14, 2017 No Comments

Q Laboratories, Inc. is excited to offer our clients faster turn-around times for their Yeast and Mold testing. Utilizing the Biomerieux TEMPO® YM Assay, results that used to take five days can now be turned around in three. TEMPO® YM is an official AOAC Research Institute Performance Tested Method for numerous matrices including, cheese, yogurt,

Q Laboratories, Inc. Gains International Recognition-Joins Elite Group of Expert Laboratories

January 30, 2017 No Comments

Q Laboratories, Inc. (Cincinnati, Ohio) has been named an AFNOR Certified Expert Laboratory, thereby qualified to perform validation studies on instruments, test kits and materials for the food microbiology testing industry in France. Representatives of Q Laboratories, Inc. were in Paris, France the week of January 22nd to present before the Association Française de Normalisation

Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) infections associated with heater-cooler devices

January 27, 2017 No Comments

In the last few years, the FDA has focused on increasing awareness of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) infections associated with heater-cooler devices and the subsequent risks to patients in health care facilities. The FDA reports that there were 32 reports of infections associated with heater-cooler devices or bacterial heater-cooler device contamination between 2010 and 2015, but

Reprocessing of Reusable Medical Devices

January 10, 2017 No Comments

The FDA requires manufacturers of reusable medical devices to provide reprocessing instructions that ensure that the device can be used safely and for the purpose for which it is intended. Developing and validating these instructions can be a complex and highly specialized activity. Guidance on this process can be found in a document created by

Low Moisture Foods Prove Problematic

December 27, 2016 No Comments

While traditionally considered low risk, low moisture foods are susceptible to pathogen contamination as evidenced by recent cases of Salmonella contamination in dairy powder, paprika powder, black pepper, toasted oats cereal, peanut butter, and chia powder. Research has shown that while pathogens do not thrive in low moisture foods, they do survive very well in

Microbial Identification Capabilities

December 15, 2016 No Comments

Q Laboratories, Inc. has added another tool to our microbial identification capabilities by acquiring the Bruker MALDI Biotyper®. This technology allows for rapid, cost-effective, accurate identification of thousands of microorganisms (including yeasts and filamentous fungi) using state-of-the-art technology. It can be used for environmental, product and/or research and development applications. Classification and identification are based

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