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CLX Investment Company Announces Zonda, Inc.'s Response to E. Coli Outbreak With Introduction of QuikAlert(TM) Food Safety Product

Posted on: Wednesday, 17 January 2007, 09:01 CST

CLX Investment Company, Inc. (OTCBB: CLXN), a diversified investment fund, today announced that portfolio investment Zonda, Incorporated is responding to the recent widespread E. coli bacteria (Escherichia coli) outbreak in U.S. fast food restaurants with the introduction of QuikAlert(TM), a new addition to its food safety product line.

QuikAlert(TM) was designed as a first line of defense in detecting food borne pathogens directly from a food product before it is packaged or shipped. Typically, perishable food products are packaged and shipped before pathogen test results are available. QuikAlert(TM) can detect these potentially dangerous microorganisms in minutes versus hours or days.

A recent outbreak of E. coli bacteria has sickened scores of people at restaurants in several states. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed 71 E. coli cases in five states, most in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania plus two in Delaware and one in South Carolina. Meanwhile, nearly three-dozen people have fallen ill with symptoms consistent with E. coli infection and authorities are investigating a case in which several people became ill in Minnesota. Investigation by the CDC indicated that shredded lettuce was the most likely source of the outbreak in most of the restaurants. Because multiple restaurants were involved during the same time period, contamination of the lettuce likely occurred before reaching the restaurants. E. coli linked to bagged spinach also killed three people and sickened 206 others in 26 states and Canada this fall.

QuikAlert(TM) is a screening tool that enables food companies to detect potentially dangerous levels of microorganisms. A provided swab is used to sample a food product. After 20 minutes, a reagent is added to the tip of the swab. After 2 minutes, a positive test will result in a purple color on the tip of the swab, indicating a presence of potentially dangerous microorganisms.

"E. coli infection is clearly a serious illness, and as recent new reports on the outbreak linked to fast food restaurants indicate, there are few issues as vital to the success of the service industry than food safety and the health of its customers. Quick detection of food borne pathogens protects the health of consumers and can potentially save millions of dollars to food growers and food processing companies. QuikAlert(TM) is a screening tool that can deliver these desired results quickly," said Laurie J. Oleksiewicz, president of Zonda, Incorporated.

According to the CDC, the E. coli infection can cause a complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), in which the red blood cells are destroyed and the kidneys fail. About 8% of persons whose diarrheal illness is severe enough that they seek medical care develop this complication. In the United States, HUS is the principal cause of acute kidney failure in children, and most cases of HUS are caused by E. coli.

To sign up to receive information by email directly from CLX Investment Company when new press releases, investor newsletters, SEC filings, or other information is disclosed, please visit http://www.clxinvestments.com/email.asp.

About Zonda, Incorporated

Zonda, Inc. (www.zondaincusa.com) specializes in diagnostic tests that serve the medical, food safety, cosmetic, beverage, pharmaceutical, veterinary, and environmental sanitation testing markets. Zonda's product line includes innovative, rapid, self-contained diagnostic devices for the detection of chlamydia, gonorrhea, yeast (Candida albicans) and Group A Strep, tests that detect bacterial and other potential harmful micro-organisms on surfaces, and confirmation tests for a wide variety of bacteria. Each of the Zonda infectious disease tests are marketed as superior to their competition due to their comparable accuracy (compared directly to PCR or DNA testing), ease of use, compact design, long shelf life, rapid results, and cost effectiveness.

About CLX Investment Company

CLX Investment Company (www.clxinvestments.com) holds a 31% equity interest in Zonda, Inc. (www.zondaincusa.com). CLX has also invested, and holds a common stock position, in ActionView International, Inc. (www.actionviewinternational.com), a publicly traded global manufacturer and marketer of "smart" scrolling advertising billboards.

CLX has elected to be regulated as a Business Development Company pursuant to Section 54 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, and is pursuing a business plan wherein the Company seeks to make investment in developing companies with the goal of providing return for its shareholders.

All statements included in this release, including statements regarding potential future plans and objectives of CLX Investments are forward-looking statements. Such statements are necessarily subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which are significant in scope and nature beyond CLX Investments' control. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements depending on many factors. Historical results are not necessarily indicative of future performance.

 Contact: Gemini Financial Communications A. Beyer 951-587-8072 Contact via http://www.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=EA27046E445D0982  

SOURCE: CLX Investment Company, Inc.

Source: MARKET WIRE

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