Thermo Fisher Scientific Launches Thermo Scientific™ InstaFlux™ to Help Food Microbiology Labs Simplify Workflows in Pathogen and Environmental Testing

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 24, 2026--

Thermo Fisher Scientific today announced the global launch of Thermo Scientific™ InstaFlux™, an integrated media-on-demand enrichment workflow that helps food microbiology laboratories simplify media preparation, improve productivity and enhance sample traceability.

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Food testing laboratories face growing pressure to process more samples, meet turnaround expectations and maintain consistent quality while managing staffing constraints, sustainability goals and increasingly complex workflows. 12 The InstaFlux workflow enables laboratories to prepare media on demand in less than 30 minutes* and supports a simplified process to sample incubation. The workflow can help reduce media prep labor by more than 80%*, support greater than 35% workflow cost savings* and lower water and energy consumption by up to 90%*, depending on laboratory workflow and operating conditions. Rather than preparing and storing large batches of enrichment media, laboratories can prepare only the media they need when they need it.

Unlike traditional batch-based media preparation, which often requires advance planning, autoclaving, bottle handling and media storage, Thermo Scientific InstaFlux enables laboratories to prepare enrichment media when needed. "As food testing demands continue to grow, laboratories need solutions that help them do more with the resources they have," said Claribel Purcell, interim president of the microbiology business at Thermo Fisher Scientific. "Thermo Scientific InstaFlux reflects our commitment to helping customers modernize enrichment workflows through a simpler, on-demand approach that supports productivity, traceability and long-term operational sustainability."

The InstaFlux workflow enables specific capabilities, including:

InstaFlux is designed for high- and mid-throughput food microbiology laboratories, including contract testing laboratories and food manufacturers seeking to improve throughput, standardize workflows across sites and reduce the operational burden associated with traditional media preparation. The workflow is particularly relevant for laboratories using buffered peptone water in routine enrichment workflows, where staffing, space, preparation time, traceability and waste can create operational constraints.

Laboratories interested in learning more about Thermo Scientific InstaFlux or requesting a demonstration should contact their Thermo Fisher representative, visit www.thermofisher.com/instaflux or visit booth 200 at the upcoming International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) Conference from July 26 – 29, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Thermo Scientific InstaFlux?
Thermo Scientific InstaFlux is an integrated enrichment workflow for food microbiology laboratories that combines concentrated sterile media, sterile water supply, automated gravimetric dispensing and digital traceability.

Who is it designed for?
It is designed for food microbiology laboratories, including contract testing labs, food manufacturers, quality managers, lab managers and operations leaders managing high- or mid-throughput sample preparation workflows.

What problem does InstaFlux help solve?
InstaFlux helps reduce the manual burden of conventional media preparation, including weighing, mixing, autoclaving, bottle handling, quality control and cleanup.

How does InstaFlux differ from traditional media preparation?
Unlike conventional batch-based media preparation, InstaFlux enables laboratories to prepare enrichment media on demand. This can help reduce preparation time, simplify workflows and improve operational flexibility while maintaining gravimetric dispensing in validated laboratory workflows.

What applications is InstaFlux designed to support?
InstaFlux is designed for food microbiology enrichment workflows, including routine foodborne pathogen testing for organisms such as Salmonella and Listeria, as well as environmental monitoring applications.

Is InstaFlux Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS)-ready?
Yes. InstaFlux supports barcode-driven workflows and digital records, with data-integration capabilities for compatible LIMS environments. Compatibility should be confirmed for each laboratory’s LIMS configuration.

What sample sizes does InstaFlux support?
InstaFlux currently supports gravimetric accuracy across 10 g to 125 g workflows. Further developments are planned.

*Performance results are based on internal testing, workflow modeling or defined-use evaluations and may vary based on laboratory workflow, sample volume, media type, equipment configuration, operating practices and local validation requirements. Claims regarding reductions in labor, workflow time, water use, energy use, packaging or waste are based on comparison with defined conventional media preparation workflows under specified conditions. Customers are responsible for validating workflows in accordance with applicable laboratory, regulatory and quality requirements. LIMS integration and data-transfer capabilities depend on system configuration and compatibility.

Availability of products in each country depends on local regulatory marketing authorization status.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue over $45 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, increasing productivity in their laboratories, improving patient health through diagnostics or the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies, we are here to support them.

Our global team delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, Patheon and PPD. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com.

1Technology Networks Applied Sciences Blog
2Labware Blog on Contract Testing

Thermo Scientific™ InstaFlux™ offers media-on-demand workflow designed to help food testing laboratories simplify media preparation and support traceable enrichment workflows

NABLUS, West Bank (AP) — The Israeli military shot and killed four Palestinians in the village of Tell in the northern West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Friday, raising tensions in the occupied territory after an Israeli settler was killed in a confrontation with local residents.

Two other Israelis and four more Palestinians were wounded, health officials said, and the Israeli military announced it was preparing for an “extensive” counterterror operation in the West Bank, with troops surrounding the town of Nablus.

“The security forces must be allowed to act freely and with full force against terrorism,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a joint statement with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz. They called Friday for more troops to the West Bank and the razing of the homes of the accused in Tell as well as collecting weapons and revoking work permits in the village.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich went farther, saying that the villages of Tell, Iraq Burin and Beit Furik “need to look exactly like the refugee camps in Nablus and Tulkarm,” referring to the mass demolition campaign that displaced tens of thousands in the West Bank towns last year.

“It is necessary to evacuate the population there for their protection and to clear these villages of terrorist infrastructure,” Smotrich said. “A sharp, determined, and unequivocal military action is required here and now.”

Five Palestinian villages surrounding Nablus were attacked by Israeli settlers on Friday, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

The towns and villages surrounding Nablus sit in one of the most violent parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. In addition to newly approved settlements, at least nine farming outposts dot the area and attacks by Israeli settlers, army incursions and confrontations have become frequent.

Palestinians and human rights groups have increasingly documented armed settlers entering villages in the area. Livestock theft, arson and the defacement of mosques are routinely reported.

Israeli deaths have repeatedly been followed by revenge against nearby Palestinian communities called “price tag” attacks. That pattern followed the March 21 death of 18-year-old Yehuda Sherman, who was killed when a Palestinian vehicle struck his ATV near Beit Imrin. Senior politicians, including Smotrich, attended Sherman’s funeral and called for vengeance.

Over the next two days, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs documented 32 settler attacks affecting 30 Palestinian villages and communities across the West Bank, about a third near Nablus governorate. Settlers torched homes and vehicles, vandalized property and assaulted residents, injuring at least 32 Palestinians, according to OCHA.

The exact circumstances of Friday's incident remained unclear, but Israeli media reports and interviews with local Palestinian officials suggested a group of settlers entered Tell and were confronted by residents who were fearful of an attack.

According to the Israeli military, one of the residents took one of the settlers' weapons and fired on the group, killing Benayahu Mellet, 32, a security guard in a settlement nearby.

In a video of the incident, confirmed by the Israeli military and circulated online by the military correspondent for Israel's Army Radio, two armed men in civilian clothing, as well as at least one Israeli soldier, are shown pointing their weapons at a group of Palestinians who had gathered in a field.

At one point, the two armed men rush toward several Palestinian residents with their guns drawn. In the footage, the residents try to push them back and appear to disarm one of the men before opening fire.

In a statement, the Israeli military said it killed the man who took the settler's weapon and that he was armed when soldiers shot him. But a separate video, published by Israeli media outlets and confirmed by the military, showed Israeli forces firing on a group of Palestinians in the same field who were already on the ground.

More than a dozen gunshots can be heard in the footage, which is less than a minute long. The military said the suspect was one of the people killed in the field. It did not respond to questions about why soldiers killed the other men — all of whom were related — or how long after the original altercation the killings took place.

Later, army chief Eyal Zamir said he was sending more troops to the occupied West Bank.

——

McNeil reported from Brussels and Cunningham from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Sam Metz in Ramallah contributed to this report.

People mourn as the bodies of four Palestinians who, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, were killed by Israeli forces near the village of Tell, arrive at Nablus Speciality Hospital in the West Bank city of Nablus, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

People mourn over the body of Jawad Ramadan, who, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, was killed by Israeli forces near the village of Tell, after his body was brought to Nablus Speciality Hospital in the West Bank city of Nablus, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)