PRESS RELEASE
CYGNUS MFG. CO. SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH HANSON TECHNOLOGIES TO BUILD OmniFresh 1000™ FOOD CONTAMINANT SCREENING SYSTEM
Saxonburg, PA, August 12, 2008 – Cygnus Manufacturing Company, a contract manufacturer of products and components used in health & safety, medical, scientific, transportation, aerospace and energy applications, has partnered with Hanson Technologies (Carlisle, PA), a food safety technology company, to fabricate the automated OmniFresh 1000™ System. OmniFresh 1000™ screens large-volume fresh produce lots in near-real time for contamination by E. coli, salmonella and other bacteria. It provides test results in two hours or less, compared to 12-36 hours for conventional lab testing methods that sample only a tiny percentage of produce lots. The OmniFresh 1000™ System represents a significant improvement in pathogen screening, identifying 99%+ of typically contaminated produce lots vs. 5.8% using conventional testing methods. 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.
OmniFresh 1000™ may be installed “on-line” with standard processing equipment and can be customized to meet the specific needs of food growers, processors, distributors and retailers. The system has been pilot tested at fresh produce production facilities in Pennsylvania and California. Hanson will begin delivering the OmniFresh 1000™ to customers this fall. The OmniFresh 1000™ System is beneficial to food growers, processors, distributors and retailers because it enables them to: protect their brands by delivering superior products to customers; reduce overhead costs by lowering the probability of pathogen-related outbreaks, and subsequent recalls and legal actions; improve quality control, including lot traceability; and maximize product freshness and shelf life.
“We are pleased that Cygnus will be manufacturing the OmniFresh 1000™ System for us,” says William P. Hanson, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Hanson Technologies. “Their engineering and manufacturing expertise has enabled us to commercialize a product that meets an urgent market need.” Adds Dennis Meteny, President and CEO of Cygnus Manufacturing Company, “Cygnus's partnership with Hanson Technologies underscores our ability to help companies capitalize on their strengths, it also gives us a great sense of satisfaction that we are able to bring our technical expertise to bear on an important public health problem.”
About Cygnus Manufacturing Company
Cygnus Manufacturing Company specializes in the engineering, machining, fabrication, and assembly of products and components used in the health & safety, medical, scientific, transportation, aerospace, and energy industries. The company is ISO 9001:2000 certified and is based in Saxonburg, PA, near Pittsburgh. For more information, contact Bob Marshall, Vice President of Business Development, at 724.352.8000, x372, or bob.marshall@cygnusmfg.com or visit www.cygnusmfg.com
About Hanson Technologies
Hanson Technologies is an innovator in UltraRapid bio-sensing solutions that are able to screen large sample sizes without culturing, in just two hours or less. Hanson Technologies' solutions are based on a series of patented and patent-pending technologies and have multiple applications including food pathogen screening including vegetables and fruits, animal diagnostics, irrigation and process water screening, and medical and bio-security applications. To learn more about Hanson Technologies, call 717.245.9890, or visit www.hansontechnologies.com
