Charm Sciences Inc. Awarded ISO 9001:2015 Recertification

Charm Sciences is pleased to announce our ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System (QMS) three-year recertification for the design and manufacture of microbial detection products for food safety and quality testing. Charm develops, manufactures, and quality tests the microbial detection products onsite at our three facilities in Massachusetts.

“Since our inception, Charm Sciences has been committed to customer-driven innovation, quality, and continual improvement. With the ISO 9001:2015 recertification, we demonstrate our ongoing dedication to a customer-driven QMS system,” said Bob Salter, VP of Regulatory and Industry Affairs. “We are incredibly proud of our employees who received superlative comments from the Lloyd’s Register auditors in their development, documentation, and maintenance of QMS process controls and key performance indicators.”

ISO (International Standards Organization) 9001:2015 is a globally recognized standard that defines QMS requirements and performance criteria. The standard assists companies in aligning quality with the business strategy of meeting and exceeding customer needs. This certification helps the food industry using our microbial detection products to meet their auditor requirements, such as Safe Quality Food Institute (SQF) criteria.

Charm’s microbial detection products include the Peel Plate test platform, which offers quantitative microbial indicator tests for aerobic, coliform, E. coli, Enterobacteriaceae, heterotrophic, staphylococcus bacteria, and yeast /mold. Many of these tests have external verification from AOAC-RI, AOAC-OMA, MicroVal, or National Conference of Interstate Milk Shipment (NCIMS) Approval with FDA 2400 forms used in Grade A dairy product testing.

The commitment to the ISO 9001-2015 QMS and external auditor recertification highlights why Charm is a trusted and committed global leader in the food safety industry.

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ABOUT CHARM SCIENCES

Established in 1978 in Greater Boston, Charm Sciences helps protect consumers, manufacturers, and global brands from a variety of issues through the development of food safety, water quality, and environmental diagnostics tests and equipment. Selling directly and through its network of distributors, Charm’s products serve the dairy, feed and grain, food and beverage, water, healthcare, environmental, and industrial markets in more than 100 countries around the globe.

Charm Peel Plate Enterobacteriaceae Test Received OMA Final Action

Charm Sciences, Inc. is pleased to report that the Charm Peel Plate EB Microbial Test received AOAC Official Method of Analysis status in fall of 2020. The final action notice was published in November 2020. 

Peel Plate tests are aseptic ready-to-use microbial tests that self-wick upon sample addition and produce colored colonies after incubation. The food industry uses Peel Plate tests to monitor sanitation and quality of raw materials, production processes, and final products. 

“The Peel Plate EB Microbial Test was evaluated with multiple dairy products, stainless surface sponges, and poultry carcass rinse in one of the first harmonized MicroVal and AOAC-OMA joint test validations,” said Bob Salter, Vice President of Regulatory and Industry Affairs. Enterobacteriaceae contaminated infant formula containing probiotics prepared by Q- Laboratories was shared collaboratively among 12 laboratories in 5 countries. Results in duplicate pairs, or their singlet results, demonstrated equivalence with ISO method 21528 at both 24 and 48 hour incubation. The method greatly simplifies and reduces costs in testing for Enterobacteriaceae, a class of Gram negative bacteria including E. coli and Salmonella pathogens associated with unsanitary conditions. 

“The AOAC-OMA final action, along with the International Organization for Standardization focused MicroVal certification, is a global recognition of suitability for use for microbiological testing. This is a culmination of years of development in the Peel Plate ISO-9001 Quality System,” said Salter. Peel Plate tests are available for aerobic count, coliform, E.coli / coliform, Staphylococcus Aureus, yeast and mold, yeast, and Enterobacteriaceae. 

To learn more, follow Charm Sciences on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. 

ABOUT CHARM SCIENCES

Established in 1978 in Greater Boston, Charm Sciences helps protect consumers, manufacturers, and global brands from a variety of issues through the development of food safety, water quality, and environmental diagnostics tests and equipment. Selling directly and through its network of distributors, Charm’s products serve the dairy, feed and grain, food and beverage, water, healthcare, environmental, and industrial markets in more than 100 countries around the globe.

Charm Sciences Announces MicroVal Approval for the Peel Plate EB Microbial Test

Charm Sciences is pleased to announce that its Peel Plate EB Microbial Test has received MicroVal approval. This follows the August announcement it received AOAC-Official Methods of Analysis (OMA) First Action, a US-based certification.

MicroVal is a European-based validation body, which has created a harmonious certification with AOAC to evaluate microbial test methods according to International Standards Organization (ISO) guidelines. Charm’s Peel Plate EB test is one of the first microbial tests to be certified under this evaluation process.

The evaluation assessed ten food matrices compared to reference methods and included a focused international collaborative study of infant formula. Twelve laboratory participants in five countries compared the ISO reference method to Charm’s Peel Plate EB Microbial Test. Expert reviewers of the results noted how closely the Peel Plate EB data replicated the ISO method.

“We are pleased with the Peel Plate EB test performance in the MicroVal evaluation process, and we are looking forward to providing this simplified alternative to conventional microbial testing to the food industry,” said Robert Salter, Vice President of Regulatory and Industry Affairs. “The validation for infant formula and dried dairy ingredients should be particularly helpful for the food industry, as these commodities faced some serious contamination challenges in 2018.”

European Union (EU) food standards specify detection of very low levels of Enterobacteriaceae in processed foods using ISO methods or equivalent. Many infant formula producers are multinational and require an international approval of the method they use. Increasingly in the USA, multinational food producers are adopting Enterobacteriaceae testing over coliform testing as the globally recognized regulation.  The MicroVal/AOAC certification of Peel Plate EB Microbial Test provides industry a globally recognized validation that the easier and faster Peel Plate method has the accuracy of ISO methods.

Using Charm’s Peel Plate EB testing for infant formula provides additional advantages over traditional methods and other easy to use microbial tests. It is fast to set up, does not require a sample spreader, and results are available within 24 hours. Additionally, it is validated using a singlet analysis, while traditional and competitor products, if validated at all, are validated in duplicate. Eliminating duplicates can significantly reduce ISO laboratories testing volume and cut costs in half.

About Charm Sciences

Established in 1978 in Greater Boston, Charm Sciences helps protect consumers, manufacturers, and global brands from a variety of issues through the development of food safety, water quality, and environmental diagnostics tests and equipment. Selling directly and through its network of distributors, Charm’s products serve the dairy, feed and grain, food and beverage, water, healthcare, environmental, and industrial markets in more than 100 countries around the globe. https://www.charm.com