White Labs, bioMérieux develop quality control test kit for yeast slurry

Yeast suppliers and brewers producing their own yeast must navigate numerous spoilage and unwanted bacteria and contamination challenges throughout harvesting and yeast propagation processes. bioMérieux, a world leader in in vitro diagnostics, is launching GENE-UP BREWPRO Yeast Slurry (YS) – a first-of-its-kind diagnostic quality control PCR test, developed in collaboration with yeast supplier White Labs. It is designed to specifically detect contaminants in raw yeast materials and yeast propagations to ensure top quality fermentations.

Current quality control test kits for the brewing industry are designed to detect potential spoilers in the finished product, not in the yeast slurries themselves. GENE-UP BREWPRO YS was built to analyze yeast in its cell-dense raw material state and is calibrated against specialized targets tailor-made for yeast slurries.

“The GENE-UP BREWPRO YS development process was a true partnership with White Labs and showcases the power of collaboration and innovation,” said Ben Pascal, head of the xPRO Program at bioMérieux. “The result – the first diagnostic testing solution made by yeast experts for yeast experts – allows for confident testing in the raw material, harvesting and propagation processes to empower better decision-making across the entirety of the production process – from the raw material to product release stages.”

The maximized sensitivity of the solution provides actionable insights to yeast and fermentation managers to deliver an enhanced risk assessment profile of not just common spoilers, but also environmental contaminants unique to yeast to strengthen quality control programs.

The solution features an optimized sample prep with increased sensitivity and specialized targets tailor-made for yeast slurries. With a much shorter time-to-result than traditional microbiological methods, the actionable insights promote operational efficiencies and raise confidence in product-release decisions to protect brand reputation.

This PCR solution can be applied in the raw material, harvesting and yeast propagation phases to avoid unnecessary contamination and spoilage challenges as early as possible in the production cycle. This helps yeast suppliers uphold product integrity, brand reputation and customer trust, while also enabling breweries of all sizes to maximize production efficiency, minimize waste and ensure product consistency and taste profiles.

bioMérieux’s xPRO Program is the catalyst that offers cutting-edge molecular diagnostics to food quality and safety departments in the food, beverage, cannabis and dietary supplement industries. Beverage industry leaders can partner directly with bioMérieux teams to rapidly develop, validate and commercialize innovative molecular testing solutions to respond to emerging needs and provide solutions to enhance overall quality programs.