Eurofins recently added Steton Technology Group’s business performance auditing software to its food safety services. This will allow Eurofins’ clients to not only access and manage all the data collected via a single database—even if it’s from multiple locations worldwide—but also increase their ability to minimize foodborne illnesses by increasing transparency and providing easier access to actionable data.

Eurofins, with more than 200 laboratories worldwide, says its goal is to do whatever it takes to minimize the risk of foodborne illnesses such as Listeria, Salmonella and Escherichia coli. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the latest annual estimate of those affected by foodborne illness in the U.S. is 48 million, or one out of every six Americans, versus an estimated 76 million U.S. citizens affected by a foodborne illness in 1999.

“Our objective is to find ways to improve food safety in food manufacturing facilities,” says Eurofins’ director of food safety systems Gary Smith. “Since 1999, food safety has improved by 40 percent. Obviously, we still have a lot of work to do because 48 million getting sick from foodborne illness is still too many. But there is evidence that the work companies like ours are doing is having an effect.”

Smith says his company expects adding technology that more effectively manages food-auditing data will make it easier for food product suppliers and manufacturers to meet the food safety quality requirements of buyers. Eurofins has renamed Steton’s auditing technology “Eurofins Audit Portal,” or “EAP,” for short.

“EAP will allow our clients to have one system to see all their laboratory results and another system to see all their food safety audit data,” says Smith. “The audit data will help clients better identify their non-conformances and manage their corrective actions.”