In 1972, the first ‘Stomacher’ blender was built in response to the transition from daily cooked meals to pre-packed foods and snacks. As the pre-prepared food industry grew, more stringent food safety tests and controls were needed to safeguard food chains and protect consumers.
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.
