3Ms Food Safety business has announced that its 3M Petrifilm Plates won a Top Product of the Year Award at the Environmental Leader 2016 Conference in Denver, hosted by Business Sector.

Media, publisher of Environmental Leader and Energy Manager Today. Scores were determined by a panel of experts in environmental and sustainability management serving as independent judges.

"We are honoured to receive this prestigious designation," said Silvia Perez, Vice President of 3M Food Safety. "Its our belief that being environmentally responsible and delivering business results do not have to be at odds with each other. Petrifilm plates serve as a reliable alternative to traditional test methods and allows users to make their testing operations more efficient and less taxing on the environment."

3M has developed an extensive portfolio of Petrifilm plates that serve as fast, accurate, and efficient quantitative microbial indicator tests. The tests provide food and beverage manufacturers with critical data that enables them to better monitor and control production processes to avoid quality and safety issues.

As compared to traditional agar methods, Petrifilm plates are a more sustainable alternative. They offer users a 66 percent reduction in waste, use 76 percent less energy, 79 percent less water and produce 75 percent fewer greenhouse gases.

"Whether its to keep the food supply safe, improve internal operations or help our customers reduce their environmental footprint, we are dedicated to applying science to create sustainable and innovative solutions that improve lives," said Ann Peddle Meitz, 3M sustainability director.

3Ms Food Safety business, helps the food and beverage industry optimise the quality and safety of their products to enable consumer protection, providing innovative solutions that mitigate risk, improve operational efficiencies and impact the bottom line.