(Tom Nicholson is co-founder and CEO of Passport Food Safety Solutions.)
Today, PassportTM Food Safety Solutions, Inc. announced its formation to provide an innovative “systems” approach to helping meat and poultry processors consistently meet increasingly stringent food-safety standards. The only company of its kind, Passport Food Safety Solutions offers insights from plant-specific and industry-benchmark analytics; a broad product portfolio with the latest food-safety innovations; and a unique system for evaluating and commercializing new technologies. With offices in Johnston, Iowa, and College Station, Texas, the company has begun its operations in the United States and has plans to expand to other parts of the world.
“Unlike other companies, our core business is developing customized food-safety programs for meat packers and processors,” says Tom Nicholson, CEO, Passport Food Safety Solutions. “From Day One, we have one of the most experienced teams of food-safety experts developing cutting-edge solutions for customers that process beef, poultry and pork. We couldn’t be more excited about the potential of our PassTracTM Analytics system, novel products and innovative services we offer for food producers.”
Single source of modern food safety products
Passport Food Safety Solutions is the exclusive marketer of some of the most recent product innovations in the business, including Finalyse®, a pre-harvest rinse that quickly reduces Escherichia coli O157:H7, decreasing levels of this foodborne pathogen before animals enter the plant.
A center piece of the product line includes BoviBrom®, a post-harvest rinse proven effective against E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella in beef; AviBrom®, an easy-to-use antimicrobial carcass wash for raw poultry that is effective in reducing Campylobacter and Salmonella; and SWG® Biocide, an EPA registered product for disinfection of poultry water lines and for the removal of biofilm deposits in water transfer lines.
A team of technical professionals at Passport Food Safety Solutions provides design, installation and ongoing support for product-application systems and has the expertise to help develop a customized, multi-hurdle approach to food safety.
State-of-the-art food safety analytics and analysis
“Food safety is a common and costly challenge, but there’s still a lot that is not yet known about how to consistently reduce pathogens that cause foodborne illness,” says Jack McReynolds, Ph.D., chief scientific officer, Passport Food Safety Solutions.
“That’s why we developed PassTrac Analytics, an incredibly robust tool that is helping us better understand how seasonal, operational and other variables affect pathogen loads — at individual plants and throughout the industry,” McReynolds adds. “By using real-world data and predictive modeling, we can help meat protein managers make timely decisions that can reduce risk and minimize financial losses.”
Commitment to bringing new innovation to market
Since the process of testing and commercializing products and services is extremely complex, Passport Food Safety Solutions has engaged with leading researchers and others who have discovered technologies that have promise for improving food safety.
“We look forward to working with researchers to develop these promising technologies and products,” says Nicholson. “In turn, we’ll work with a panel of food-safety experts and stakeholders to evaluate and test the most viable prospects. By working together, we’ll be able to identify and commercialize new innovations much more quickly — a game-changer for all of us who care deeply about food safety.”
Tackling E. coliduring warmer weather
“The timing of our company introduction couldn’t be more appropriate,” says McReynolds. “Since E. coli loads historically rise in tandem with seasonal temperatures, now is the time for managers to take a fresh look at which products, practices and technologies are the right choices for their plants. All of us at Passport Food Safety Solutions can’t wait to help customers further reduce foodborne pathogens.”
(Jack McReynolds, Ph.D., is co-founder and chief scientific officer for Passport Food Safety Solutions.)
