Applied Biosystems Salmonella Detection Kit Assists Efforts to Protect Food Supply
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Applied Biosystems, part of Life Technologies Corporation has announced the certification of its TaqMan® Salmonella enterica Detection Kit for the identification of Salmonella in peanut butter through the new Emergency Response Validation program of the AOAC Research Institute.
Validation of the Applied Biosystems kit is part of an effort to respond to the recent peanut butter contamination crisis, which resulted in the largest food recall in U.S. history. The TaqMan Salmonella enterica Detection Kit is a molecular-based tool for monitoring the safety of food supplies, and could help avoid costly recalls of food products in the future.
The new Emergency Response Validation program is intended to enhance the ability of government and industry to test food supplies for Salmonella, which has been implicated in several recent outbreaks, including peppers, sprouts and tomatoes. The outbreak in peanut butter sickened hundreds of people, and has been implicated in at least nine deaths.
As part of this program, the AOAC is extending validation of several methods, previously certified for the identification of Salmonella in various foods, to include detection in peanut butter. This supports food companies’ increasing measures to prevent contaminated foods from reaching consumers.
The TaqMan Salmonella enterica Detection Kit was introduced into the food safety testing market with AOAC Performance Tested Methodssm certification in 2008, as part of Applied Biosystems’ initiative to serve a broader range of customers. It is a real-time PCR-based method that identifies pathogens by detecting their DNA in food samples, allowing food companies and regulators to detect contamination. This Applied Biosystems kit enables testing laboratories to obtain results in less than 20 hours.
Scott Coates, AOAC Research Institute Chief Scientific Officer, Microbiology, “Food companies and government agencies are responding to increasing pressures to protect the health of consumers. The AOAC’s new Emergency Response Validation program supports these enhanced expectations by independently evaluating the technologies that most effectively address Salmonella outbreaks.”
Leonard Klevan, Ph.D., President of Applied Markets at Life Technologies, “Food safety continues to be a high priority, requiring ongoing efforts to help protect the health of consumers. We are responding to the concerns of everyone, from consumers to the highest levels of government, to ensure safety of the food supply. Life Technologies is applying its leadership in developing molecular technologies to help food-testing laboratories, in government and industry, identify pathogens and help prevent future outbreaks of contamination.”
Validation of the Applied Biosystems kit is part of an effort to respond to the recent peanut butter contamination crisis, which resulted in the largest food recall in U.S. history. The TaqMan Salmonella enterica Detection Kit is a molecular-based tool for monitoring the safety of food supplies, and could help avoid costly recalls of food products in the future.
The new Emergency Response Validation program is intended to enhance the ability of government and industry to test food supplies for Salmonella, which has been implicated in several recent outbreaks, including peppers, sprouts and tomatoes. The outbreak in peanut butter sickened hundreds of people, and has been implicated in at least nine deaths.
As part of this program, the AOAC is extending validation of several methods, previously certified for the identification of Salmonella in various foods, to include detection in peanut butter. This supports food companies’ increasing measures to prevent contaminated foods from reaching consumers.
The TaqMan Salmonella enterica Detection Kit was introduced into the food safety testing market with AOAC Performance Tested Methodssm certification in 2008, as part of Applied Biosystems’ initiative to serve a broader range of customers. It is a real-time PCR-based method that identifies pathogens by detecting their DNA in food samples, allowing food companies and regulators to detect contamination. This Applied Biosystems kit enables testing laboratories to obtain results in less than 20 hours.
Scott Coates, AOAC Research Institute Chief Scientific Officer, Microbiology, “Food companies and government agencies are responding to increasing pressures to protect the health of consumers. The AOAC’s new Emergency Response Validation program supports these enhanced expectations by independently evaluating the technologies that most effectively address Salmonella outbreaks.”
Leonard Klevan, Ph.D., President of Applied Markets at Life Technologies, “Food safety continues to be a high priority, requiring ongoing efforts to help protect the health of consumers. We are responding to the concerns of everyone, from consumers to the highest levels of government, to ensure safety of the food supply. Life Technologies is applying its leadership in developing molecular technologies to help food-testing laboratories, in government and industry, identify pathogens and help prevent future outbreaks of contamination.”
