Advanced DNA Detection of Microbes in Food

A new system offers advanced DNA-based detection of microbes in food, from raw ingredients to finished products. The same automated platform can be used by food companies for both safety and quality testing.

The next-generation Bax system Q7 is the result of a strategic alliance between DuPont Qualicon (Wilmington, DE, USA) and Applied Biosystems (Foster City, CA, USA) and is now available for Oxoid (Basingstoke, UK) in Europe and Australia.

The Bax Q7 combines the ease-of-use and reliable performance of the current Bax system, with additional technologies from Applied Biosystems that result in a flexible polymerase chain reaction (PCR) instrument. The Bax Q7 detects microbes in environmental samples and food throughout the supply chain. While totally compatible with current Bax systems, the new Bax Q7 can use both real-time and end-point detection methods. It has the ability to detect up to five different dyes used for probe-based detection, as well as intercalating dyes, to match the needs of the assay. It completes 40 cycles of PCR in less than two hours.

"The Bax Q7 is a major step-change in PCR detection systems,” said Peter Mrozinski, business development manager for DuPont Qualicon. "Innovations in the new instrument will enable us to develop Bax Q7 assays that provide new and meaningful information on food samples, such as presence and amount of multiple microbes in a single sample. This, in turn, will help food companies make informed business decisions at an earlier point in the process.”

Dupont Qualicon is developing technologies that will optimize and shorten the entire testing process. The goal is a completely integrated system of food-testing modules--from sampling and enrichment to accurate detection and results that can be effectively implemented.



Related Links:
Dupont Qualicon
Applied Biosystems
Oxoid