Hanson Technologies receives patent for its UltraRapid technology

Sep 10 2009

Hanson Technologies, Inc., an innovator in rapid biosensing solutions for food pathogen screening, today announced the issuance of a U.S. Patent entitled Agricultural Screening System and Method for Detection of Infectious Microorganisms. The U.S. patent describes the Company's method for screening for the presence of pathogenic microorganisms in vegetables, fruits, nuts and other plant material intended for human and animal consumption.

The Company's technology has the capability to screen entire lots of fresh produce with a 99.8% confidence versus less than 6% for conventional methods. In addition it provides results in 2 hours or less rather 12 to 36 hours providing significantly greater operational efficiency. The screening is the most comprehensive and fastest system solution available. The technology is incorporated into Hanson Technologies' OmniFresh(TM) 1000 System.

"The patent for rapidly identifying microorganisms that may be present in produce validates the superiority of our UltraRapid(TM) technology, and exemplifies our ground-breaking role in improved pathogen detection and greater freshness," said William P. Hanson, Ph.D., CEO of Hanson Technologies, Inc. "Our OmniFresh(TM) System stands alone in the market as the only solution capable of screening entire lots of large-volume produce. Hanson Technologies continues to be committed to preventing outbreaks from food-borne diseases such as Salmonella and E. Coli O157:H7."

OmniFresh(TM) 1000 screens entire lots of fresh produce in near-real time for contamination by E. coli O157:H7 and the capability to screen for additional bacteria including salmonella. It provides test results in two hours or less, compared to 12 to 36 hours for conventional lab testing methods that sample only a tiny percentage of produce lots. The OmniFresh(TM) 1000 System represents a significant improvement in pathogen screening, identifying 99.8%+ of typically contaminated produce lots vs. typically 1% to 5.8% using conventional testing methods.

The OmniFresh(TM) 1000 System is an automated, simple to use, integrated solution that is fully installed "in-line" with standard processing equipment. The system can be customized in various configurations to meet the specific screening needs of food growers and producers and screen large-volume batches in real-time.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, more than 5,000 people in the United States die each year from diseases caused by eating contaminated food. The economic cost of those incidents is more than $10 billion annually.