3M Food Safety Gains AFNOR Approval for Bottled Water Testing

ST. PAUL, Minn. –  3M Food Safety announced today that its 3M PetrifilmAqua Coliform Count Plate has received NF Validation from France-based Association Française de Normalisation (AFNOR) for its ability to detect and enumerate colonies of Escherichia coli and coliform bacteria in bottled water samples.

Validated against ISO 9308-1, the AFNOR certification confirmed that the microbiological analysis of 3M’s indicator technology performs as well or better than conventional and more time-consuming reference methods. This compliance follows prior validation of the 3M Petrifilm Aqua Coliform Count Plate as a Performance Tested Method (PTM) in the U.S. under the guidelines of the Maryland-based AOAC Research Institute.   Both validations are important developments for evaluating the efficacy of the 3M product for guaranteeing safer bottled water sources worldwide.

The 3M Petrifilm Aqua Plate technology was introduced globally in March 2011, offering bottled water processors a microbial testing tool that delivers simplicity, consistent performance, minimal storage and enhanced productivity, compared to reference methods that use bulkier media pads, disposable filter funnels and agar petri dishes.