Hygiena has announced that its BAX system assays for detection of Shiga toxin-producing e coli (STEC) and salmonella from MicroTally beef trim sampling cloths were evaluated and approved by the AOAC performance tested methods programme. This certification enables the industry to use a simple, non-destructive sampling method, rather than enriching actual meat samples, in conjunction with the BAX system assays for the detection of STEC and Salmonella.
The US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS) collects and analyses raw beef products for both STEC and Salmonella. Typically, a single sample collected by N60 excision or N60 Plus is co-analysed for the presence of both pathogens. However, these methods are labour intensive and result in product loss. A novel sampling methodology, which utilises a manual sampling device (MSD) composed of cloth rather than enriching actual portions of meat to be tested, has the potential to produce rapid cost-efficient results when screened with PCR along with other production benefits.
The AOAC approval on this matrix applies to the BAX system real-time salmonella (KIT2006) at 10 hours and the BAX system real-time STEC (KIT2021, KIT2008, KIT2009) as well as the BAX system real-time e coli O157:H7 Exact (KIT2039), all at eight hours. The approval demonstrates the ability of the BAX System to accurately detect STEC and salmonella from one enriched MicroTally MSD, within a single shift.
“We are extremely proud that our assays continue to be recognised by such a globally acknowledged agency as the AOAC INTERNATIONAL, whose validations have a reputation for the highest standards of excellence and thorough analysis. Such independent assessments give us the assurance we need to continue safeguarding our customers’ businesses and protecting end consumers by providing trusted, reliable One Health Diagnostics to the food safety and animal health industries. Furthermore, this new certification also demonstrates our commitment to producing sensitive, easy-to-use and robust molecular biological solutions that improve lab productivity while achieving outstanding results,” said Amanda Manolis, vice-president of global marketing at Hygiena.
