Microbac helps keep you safe from food-borne illness

Location: Microbac Laboratories in Warrendale

Featured guest: Trevor Craig, corporate director of technical training and consulting at Microbac

3 things that surprised me:

1. Microbac tests hundreds of samples at the Warrendale office every day. Many samples come from local food production facilities that want to ensure that their facilities and samples are free of pathogens such as E. coli and salmonella. Trevor says some samples are taken from sponges that were wiped around facilities before being sealed in a bag and sent in. Microbac also tests raw ingredients and finished products.

2. Samples are prepped and placed inside a walk-in incubator that is surprisingly warm. Trevor pointed out some petri dishes that had turned impressively bright colors – almost like little works of art. He also showed us sponges floating in a yellow, cloudy liquid that looked gnarly.

3. As we walked into one of the last rooms, Trevor warned that it would smell bad. Many samples get moldy in the incubator and it smells when the bags are opened so the samples can be put into a machine that scans for pathogens. Trevor pointed to some results on the computer that revealed a sample that had tested positive for contamination.

One thing that didn’t make the final cut: Trevor told me a little about Microbac’s history. The company was founded here in Pittsburgh in the 1960s by A. Warne Boyce. Initially, the lab tested only local dairy products before expanding its services into more food and environmental testing.

Want more Yinzer Backstage Pass? Watch as we tag along with 412 Food Rescue as they rescue and deliver food.