The field of food microbiology grew rapidly and the Seward Stomacher® lab blender established itself as the essential piece of kit in food testing laboratories around the world. The ‘Stomacher’ name refers to the way the food sample is broken down in the blender for testing, similar to food being transferred down to the human stomach! Initial responses to the name were muted, (to say the least, although the alternative of ‘The Gizzard’ was quickly dropped).

50 years on, the name has stuck and is forever referred to as both the piece of kit and the process itself, referenced in thousands of protocols and scientific papers globally.

To date, Seward has manufactured over 57,000 Seward Stomacher® laboratory paddle blenders, we export to global markets and millions of samples are prepared daily on a Seward Stomacher® lab blender.

The role of the Stomacher® in sample preparation has expanded from food safety into fields as diverse as medical research for cancer treatments, cutting edge microbiome research and environmental and industrial applications in soil and water testing.

‘It’s a great year for us’ states Seward’s Commercial Director, Will Patrick ‘We are continuing to add to our Seward product range, to innovate and respond to today’s global food safety and microbiology demands’.

With more emphasis now than ever on food chain security, Seward Stomacher® lab blenders continue to play a key role in food safety labs around the world. The next 50 years promises a continued focus on product innovation and collaborations, expanding the Stomacher range to support the changing demands of microbiology sample preparation.

Read more about Seward Stomacher history.

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Insterprep® is ready-to-mix, sterile, granulated media specifically designed to speed up sample preparation for microbiological analysis. Available in Stomacher® bags and sachets Insterprep® is ready for use instantly. Simply add sterile distilled water and a sample as per protocol. We asked Seward’s resident microbiologist Stuart Ray for 5 reasons why we should all be switching to Insterprep® from traditional media.

1. Insterprep® gives you the flexibility to respond to varying workflow

Microbiology labs often have unpredictable workloads. Media has to be prepared or ready media purchased and stored. Preparation can take hours and minimal lead times on prepared media would be 24 hours from a supplier. Any additional samples arriving in the lab after midday will have to wait for TVC and pre-enrichment until the next day. This introduces a 24-hour delay to these samples.  

Insterprep® is always ready to use whatever the time of day allowing you to maximise the turnaround efficiency of your lab.

 2. It’s easier to store compared with traditional bottles of media

Bottled media has a short shelf life measuring in weeks rather than the 2 years offered by Insterprep®. Bottled media has to be prepared in batches so waste will occur. It also occupies a large amount of space on benches or in fridges and the shelf life requires management.

Insterprep® is dehydrated culture media ready for immediate use. For example, a pack of 100 Buffered Peptone Water Stomacher bags occupies the same shelf space as a shoe box while the equivalent in bottles covers several metres of standard bench space.

3. Dehydrated media has a long shelf life

The unpredictable work flow means forecasting purchases of prepared media or making media means that lab efficiency can be compromised by more than 24 hours if you have a shortfall of media available.

Insterprep® is instantly available media for the pre-enrichment and TVC steps of your analyses.

4. Ordering Insterprep® will reduce supply chain carbon emissions, shipping costs and waste disposal costs, compared to pre-mixed diluents

Prepared media involves the shipping of large amounts of water which is heavy and expensive to move around. Being dehydrated, Insterprep® is a much less costly substance to move and its smaller volume means it can be transported in a more energy efficient way than pre-mixed diluents.

5. Smooths laboratory workflow with no bottlenecks

Current day laboratories are under constant strain. Customers want accurate results faster and cheaper.

In a highly competitive marketplace, the laboratories that thrive do so by investing in up-to-date technology, creating workflow efficiencies and improving responsiveness to an increasingly demanding market.

The Insterprep® range of products is designed to help forward thinking laboratories achieve these goals.

Insterprep® has been created to help laboratories increase capacity and rapidly respond to varying workflow requirements. Manufactured to ISO standards, Insterprep® has been tested and independently proven by the world-renowned Leatherhead Food Research Agency.

So, now that you know all of the reasons you should be using Insterprep®, why not sign up for a trial today?

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WORTHING, UK (Feb 2022) – Seward, the world’s leader in sample preparation, is inviting microbiology laboratories to trial its newly launched Stomacher^® 3500 autoclavable paddle blender bag at no cost. Thanks to its unique material composition, the new autoclavable bag is the first paddle blender bag that can survive irradiation, Stomaching and the autoclave disposal cycle without losing its integrity. This robust bag prevents bursting and spillages after autoclaving, ensuring the contents can be disposed of where and when intended, rather than being accidentally dumped onto the floor.

The free trial of this new product is available to all. Laboratories globally can apply via Seward’s website www.seward.co.uk/stomacher-autoclavable-bags to receive a trial sachet of 50 bags. Once the unique advantages of the new bag have been trialed and confirmed in situ, users can obtain 20% off their first order, or 25% off if they provide feedback on their first-hand experience.

The single chamber autoclavable bags are ideal for sample sizes ranging from 400-4500 mL and irradiated sterile for use in laboratory blenders, such as the Seward Stomacher^® 3500 and Seward Stomacher^® 4500. Available in packs of 250 in 5 sachets of 50 and sterility assured, the bags are made from food grade materials and suitable for all microbiological applications. Its wide range of applications also includes small batch media preparation which can then be sterilised in an autoclave.

“We are inviting any users of 3500 blender bags to try for themselves. Using our new autoclavable Stomacher^® bags they can make the autoclave disposal cycle easier and more efficient,” said Stuart Ray, Seward’s Technical Director. “We already have major customers enjoying the advantages of this product both ergonomically and economically, with a stream of new applications in development. Through our trial offer we want everyone to get a chance to try it out and see the benefits in their own laboratories.”

The new Stomacher^® 3500 autoclavable blender bag free trial is available worldwide while stocks last and further information can be found on Seward’s website. www.seward.co.uk/stomacher-autoclavable-bags 

Part of the FermionX Ltd group, the Seward brand is at the forefront of the microbiology industry, providing laboratories with the products necessary for sample preparation. Focusing on transparency, accuracy and traceability, the Seward range helps to produce accurate, repeatable and robust results. With headquarters in Worthing, West Sussex in the UK – all Seward machines are manufactured in the UK. Seward also has a presence in the US as Seward Inc.

www.seward.co.uk

www.fermionx.com

To find out more about this product, get in touch with our sales team:

UK office – info@seward.co.uk +44(0)1903 524600
US office –  info@sewardusa.com / +1 631 337 1808

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Seward, the world leaders in sample preparation for microbiological analyses, has launched the first paddle blender bag that can also be autoclaved. By avoiding the need for double-bagging, trials have shown that the new bags can reduce the amount of plastic waste by 50%, as well as saving time and cost.

Seward developed the autoclavable stomacher bag in response to a request by a global food giant customer, to produce a sterile blender bag that would help solve a number of problems it was facing in their food testing processes. Using innovative technology, Seward was able to develop a bag that was robust enough to withstand both the physical demands of the blending action and subsequent autoclaving.

An extensive evaluation at the company showed that Seward’s new autoclavable Stomacher® bag reduced processing times and labour costs by eliminating the need to double bag samples before autoclaving. In addition, this meant a significant reduction in the amount of single-use plastic used during the process.

The company has estimated that using the new Stomacher bag in only one site will save almost $31k annually, due to reduced need for materials and a saving of over two hrs a day in processing time, and also use 1,100 Kg less plastic each year.*

“Using single-use plastic is not only detrimental to the environment, it is costly, and as a business Seward is always striving for ways to reduce, re-use or recycle wherever possible,” said Stuart Ray, Seward’s Technical Director. “In microbiology testing, we aren’t yet able to eliminate all single-use plastic, however we knew there must be a way of reducing it. I’m happy to say that the new Stomacher bag has surpassed our expectations”.

*Based on 2020 volumes.

Editor’s notes

Part of the FermionX Ltd group, the Seward brand is at the forefront of the microbiology industry, providing laboratories with the products necessary for sample preparation. Focusing on transparency, accuracy and traceability, the Seward range helps to produce accurate, repeatable and robust results. With headquarters in Worthing, West Sussex in the UK – all Seward machines are manufactured in the UK. Seward also has offices operating in New York.

www.seward.co.uk
www.fermionx.com

To find out more about this product, get in touch with our sales team:

UK office – info@seward.co.uk
US office –  info@sewardusa.com / +1 631 337 1808

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We are fully committed to providing our customers in the EU with our full suite of innovative products, service and support along with minimising any disruption caused by Brexit transition. 

To that end, we are finalising incorporation of a new company based in Germany to provide localised warehousing and sales support. This allows us to make and supply our products and services without any further administrative burden to our EU customers whatever the next few years holds.

It also allows us to minimise any potential disruption from regulatory changes such as CE marking of our products during the transition period, ensuring customers have continued access to products.

We anticipate that the services we are offering from this new venture will be expanded as we progress.

Our commitment remains to providing reliable and innovative products and we look forward to continuing our wonderful relationship with our customers throughout Europe and globally.

Further details of our GmbH business will be available in the coming weeks but in the meantime contact our team at info@seward.co.uk with any queries.

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Worthing, United Kingdom – 15 June 2017

Food laboratories benefit from the Stomacher 400 EVO’s simple and almost silent operation, and by using with the new Stomacher ECO bags, they also save on consumables cost and waste. The new technology used in the Stomacher 400 EVO ensures the quiet operation and enables easy one-touch loading for sample bags. Removable paddles and tool-free access also allow easy cleaning of the paddle chamber.

All Stomacher products are manufactured in the UK at Seward’s ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 registered facility and offer the rugged and dependable day-to-day performance for which Stomacher blenders are renowned. Visitors to Seward’s Booth #541 will be able to discuss in depth their food sample preparation needs with Seward’s Technical Director, Stuart Ray, and Key Account Manager, Rachel Hills.

“We look forward to showing visitors how our consumables and instruments can help with food laboratory workflow efficiencies, in terms of both time- and cost-savings,” said Stuart Ray. “For example, our new Stomacher 400 EVO combines the gold standard attributes of the original Stomacher 400 with improved, easy-to-use features, including a one-touch bag loading system. It also saves up to 25% on consumables when used with the associated Stomacher^® 400 ECO sample preparation bags.”

As a Silver Sustaining IAFP member, Seward is committed to advancing food quality and safety worldwide. For more information on Seward (a brand of FermionX Ltd), please visit www.seward.co.uk.

 * The U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) details the agency’s preferred laboratory procedures for microbiological analyses of foods and cosmetics. 

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17 March 2017 – Seward, makers of Stomacher^® laboratory blenders, will be showcasing its new generation Stomacher^® 400 EVO laboratory blender at Pittcon 2017 in Chicago from 5-9^th March. Also on Booth 4852, Seward will demonstrate its range of new ECO sample preparation bags which, when used in combination with the Stomacher 400 EVO, deliver significant cost savings in sample preparation for food microbiology.

The innovative new paddle blending system enables laboratories to save up to 25% on consumables by using the Stomacher ECO bags, resulting in a substantially increased return on investment. The ECO bags are specifically designed for use with the Stomacher 400 EVO and use significantly less plastic than standard Stomacher bags, making them ideal for ISO 14001 laboratories. This also means that an average food testing laboratory using 7000 bags per month could recover the cost of a new Stomacher 400 EVO laboratory blender within 18 months. Together with a 3 year warranty, the new system is both highly economical and more eco-friendly.

The all new design of the Seward Stomacher 400 EVO combines the gold standard attributes of the original Stomacher 400 with improved, easy-to-use features to provide maximum performance while minimising noise and consumables waste. Readily programmable, simple to clean and with a unique one-touch bag loading system, the Stomacher 400 EVO is perhaps the easiest laboratory blender to use. Operators simply place a bag in the loading slot and by pushing the start button, the bag is sealed and blending begins – simplicity that makes it ideal for the busy laboratory. The new Seward Stomacher 400 EVO can also be used with a range of standard Stomacher bags, giving it the flexibility required by laboratories that do not want to change bag type.

“Our new Stomacher 400 EVO and ECO sample preparation bags have been developed drawing on both customer feedback and Seward’s 40+ years of expertise in sample preparation for microbiological analysis. Over that time Stomacher laboratory paddle blenders have established a firm reputation for reliability and durability, which is why they are used to prepare over 8 million food samples a year in over 150 countries,” said Dan Crothers, Sales & Marketing Director, Seward. “Our Technical Director, Stuart Ray, and I look forward to welcoming Pittcon visitors to our Booth 4852 and demonstrating our new cost-effective blending system, alongside our well established range of Stomacher blenders and accessories.”

Also on Booth 4852, Seward’s sister company, Airbox Sampling Products will be showing its range of air sampling pumps used by the asbestos industry. This includes the new Variflow air sampling pump which is easy to use and fully waterproof, enabling simple, rapid and effective decontamination following asbestos sampling.

Seward and Airbox Sampling Products are brands of FermionX Ltd (UK). For more information on Seward, please visit www.seward.co.uk. Further information on Airbox Sampling Products can be found at: www.airboxsp.com.

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The merger represents a significant development for stakeholders, creating a company with combined turnover of circa £6M. This move consolidates two companies with shared core values on strong customer relationships, quality and value-added products and service.

FermionX will continue to operate through its individual brands; Seward, manufacturers of globally renowned Stomacher® lab blenders, and C-Tech Electronics, providing comprehensive electronic contract manufacturing services. The Company will leverage both brands’ respective strengths for the benefit of its customers with greater resources for manufacturing, R&D and global sales and distribution footprint.

The merger provides a greater technical resource for Seward to enhance its R&D strategy, an area which has gained emphasis recently with the launch of the Stomacher^® 400 EVO laboratory blender and Insterprep^® range of pre-weighed, sterile media.  

Under the C-Tech Electronics brand, the company has a highly successful and flexible manufacturing service, providing comprehensive contract electronic manufacturing solutions with expertise and experience from PCB design to complete box-build.

The new company will be led by John Patrick, whose family started C-Tech Electronics. Mr Patrick said, “Establishing FermionX Ltd is an immensely exciting step, developing a company that can provide end-to-end electronic manufacturing solutions, with a final product mind-set. The consolidated resource from all companies will allow us to quickly respond to market opportunities and technology trends to better support our customers.” He added, “While FermionX provides the overriding corporate structure, all company brands will continue to be presented under their existing brand names and to the same high standards of products and service.”

Former Managing Director of Seward Ltd, Daniel Crothers, remains with the Company as Sales and Marketing Director. Mr Crothers continues, “Seward enjoys a global reputation for quality laboratory products. Under FermionX Ltd, the Seward brand will continue to enhance this reputation with emphasis on new product development that adds real value to our laboratory customers. We already have a project list for planned launches in 2017 which our distribution partners are very excited about.”

Technical Director Stuart Ray, who will be heading up the Research and Development team said, “Both companies have collaborated over the years on product design and development with customers and other strategic partners, FermionX will allow this function to expand and drive the growth of our brands and of the business in general”.

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18 July 2016 – Seward Ltd, world leaders in sample preparation, will be introducing two new products to the U.S. at the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) Annual Meeting in St Louis, Missouri, 31^st July to 3^rd August. On Booth #221, the most significant development in the Stomacher^® range for many years – the new Seward Stomacher^® 400 EVO and accompanying Stomacher^® 400 ECO bags – will be highlighted alongside Seward’s updated range of Insterprep^® sterile sampling bags and sachets. These new products enable food microbiology laboratories to operate in a highly efficient way, with the likelihood of significant cost savings.

The all new Seward Stomacher 400 EVO laboratory blender combines the gold standard attributes of the original Stomacher 400 with improved, easy-to-use features, including a one-touch bag loading system. Providing maximum performance while minimising noise, the Seward Stomacher^® 400 EVO used with the associated Stomacher^® 400 ECO sample preparation bags, can save up to 25% on consumables. As ECO bags use significantly less plastic than standard bags, this reduces waste, making them both economical and eco-friendly, which is ideal for ISO14001 laboratories.

In addition to reducing stress and disruption to other laboratory work enabled through efficient and near silent blending, the Seward Stomacher 400 EVO is also very easy to clean.  The new blender’s front cover and strike plate can be removed facilitating access to the paddle chamber and detachable paddles for simple and thorough cleaning. The removable drip tray also saves cleaning time in day-to-day use.

Also on Booth #221, Insterprep sachets – from Seward’s new pre-weighed media range – contain instantly-soluble sterile media granules which are ready-to-use by simply adding to the user’s own Stomacher bags with sterile water and then blended immediately. As there is no need to wait for the media granules to dissolve before blending, samples can be prepared in under a minute. Like Insterprep media bags, Insterprep sachets can be selected depending on the quantity and type of media required for a particular protocol.

“IAFP is one of the leading food safety conferences on the global circuit,” said Dan Crothers, Managing Director, Seward. “As Silver IAFP members, we see it as a key event for delegates to be able to view and discuss our very latest products that can make a real difference in food testing laboratories. Our new Stomacher 400 EVO laboratory blender, accessories and sterile media product introductions on show at IAFP 2016 can deliver real cost- and time-saving efficiencies for food microbiology sample preparation protocols – and importantly – improvements in working environment.”

For more information on Seward, please visit www.seward.co.uk.

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The Seward Insterprep range of instantly soluble sterile media

5^th July 2016 – Seward Ltd, manufacturers of the renowned Stomacher^® blender and creators of the Insterprep^® range of instantly soluble sterile media, has teamed up with Scientific Laboratory Supplies (SLS) as their primary distribution partner for Insterprep in the UK.

Insterprep is a new range of pre-weighed, sterile, granulated media available in Stomacher® bags or sachets. Designed to speed up and simplify sample preparation for microbiological analysis of food samples, Insterprep media bags combine the media preparation and sample preparation steps into one single process.

Seward has been able to leverage off the culture media experience and quality controls of one the world’s leading microbiology brands, HiMedia Laboratories, to create Insterprep (Instant Sterile Preparation).

By working closely with media experts HiMedia Laboratories, Seward developed the Insterprep range to help laboratories cut waste, increase capacity and respond to varying workflow requirements. Manufactured to ISO standards, Insterprep has been tested and proven independently by the world renowned Leatherhead Food Research Agency.

Lee Jenkins, Supply Development Manager at SLS, says: “UK food testing laboratories are under constant pressure to reduce costs, reduce contamination risks and ease laboratory workflow. SLS is committed to finding solutions that help our customers achieve this; Seward’s Insterprep range can provide our customers with real benefits to alleviate workflow pressures while maintaining performance requirements.”

Dan Crothers, Managing Director of Seward, concludes: “As the largest independent British-owned supplier of scientific equipment, we are delighted to be working with SLS to bring Insterprep sterile media to the UK market. Not only does Insterprep minimise waste by having just the right amount of sterile media required for each sample, but it also eliminates contamination risk, weighing errors and laboratory bottlenecks often caused by batch media preparation. Insterprep sterile media gives laboratories the flexibility to respond to today’s workflow challenges.”

For more information on Seward, please visit www.seward.co.uk.

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