Bacterial Contamination Testing

In January, Health Canada announced the recall of hundreds of bottles of one lot of a dry mouth oral rinse manufactured in the United States and sold in Canada. The recall was initiated because the product may be contaminated with Klebsiella, a type of Gram-negative bacteria.

While most healthy people typically don’t get Klebsiella infections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that it can cause different types of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), including pneumonia, bloodstream infections, wound or surgical site infections, and meningitis. The agency goes on to share that increasingly, Klebsiella bacteria have developed antimicrobial resistance, most recently to the class of antibiotics known as carbapenems. In healthcare settings, Klebsiella infections commonly occur among sick patients who are receiving treatment for other conditions.

Fortunately, there had been no reports of incidents or injuries in Canada at the time of the recall posting. Consumers with the recalled lot of the dry mouth oral rinse are advised by Health Canada to immediately stop using it and to dispose of it.

Helping manufacturers test for Klebsiella and other microorganisms are the scientists at MPL Laboratories. They offer cGMP and ISO 17025 compliant microbiology testing in their FDA and DEA registered facility. These services, which can be instrumental in helping to prevent costly product recalls and for safeguarding patients and consumers, are available to manufacturers, importers, distributors, regulatory agencies, and health care providers.

To learn more about product testing services offered by MPL Laboratories, please visit www.MPLLaboratories.com, call (800) 548-1874 or email info@MPLLaboratories.com.

MPL Laboratories (formerly Marypaul Laboratories) was founded in 1985 as a full-service microbiology laboratory. It is cGMP compliant, FDA and DEA registered, ISO/IEC 17025 accredited by PJLA, and NJDEP certified. MPL’s staff includes M.S. and B.S. degreed microbiologists and other dedicated scientists. The microbiology testing laboratory serves the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, personal care and food industries. MPL aims to provide its clients with high quality, reliable test data in a timely manner. The laboratory is part of the EMSL Analytical, Inc. network of laboratories across the United States and Canada.