Olymel Opens In-House Microbiology Lab

Olymel, a Canadian provider of pork and poultry meats, has announced the opening of its own central microbiology laboratory. Olymel invested into the existing infrastructure of its plant in Ange-Gardien, Montérégie, to house the new laboratory. The AngeGardien facilities were automated and its equipment upgraded to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology, which will make analysis methods more efficient and increase information traceability. The laboratory is licensed by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

A team of five professionals will work in the new central microbiology laboratory under the supervision of Delphine Sène, the Director of Food Safety at Olymel. The new laboratory’s analyses will focus on detecting primary pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella, as well as confirming product shelf life.

The development of the new laboratory furthers Olymel’s commitment to health, safety, and quality. The company stated that, by bringing previously outsourced analyses and tests in-house, Olymel can develop its own expertise, shorten turnaround times, and significantly reduce costs related to laboratory analyses across the company. The laboratory will have the capacity to perform over 100,000 tests per year, which will give Olymel more autonomy to validate processes within the framework of the Safe Quality Food (SQF) certification and enhance the company’s quality assurance management. Olymel will also continue to entrust analysis requests and tests that are required by regulatory bodies or Olymel’s clients to independent laboratories.

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