Laboratories Evaluate Salmonella Immunoassay

Thirty pre-commercial evaluations of a new immunoassay that tests for Salmonella are taking place in U.S. poultry companies and independent laboratories. The evaluations focus on a novel 48-hour test that can be used in a wide variety of high-burden foods, in addition to a 24-hour method for a selection of low-burden foods.

Many existing commercial Salmonella tests include complicated sample enrichment protocols and high false-positive results, which add to the total cost of the testing program. The RapidChek Select Salmonella test uses technology from Strategic Diagnostics Inc. (SDI, Newark, DE, USA) to deliver a cost-effective assay, which adds to food-safety assurance and brand integrity.

To date, results have been very positive, with side-by-side evaluations showing, in most cases, significantly better results than the evaluators' current method of choice. Customer feedback on user friendliness of the product has also been very promising, with clear ease-of-use advantages from a test preparation and execution perspective. The investigators also commented that RapidChek Select Salmonella is very simple to use, requires low hands-on involvement, reduces transfer steps, and is extremely easy to interpret, all of which facilitate overall efficiency in the workplace.

Commenting on the evaluations, Matthew H. Knight, president and CEO of SDI, said, "This is the company's second food pathogen test developed through SDI's DesignChek process, and the first immunoassay-based method offered to the food industry with patent-pending technology that delivers faster, more accurate results and a meaningful reduction in the total cost of testing for the customer.”

Approval of the test by the U.S. Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) is pending. The official commercial launch of the product is scheduled for the International Association for Food Protection annual meeting in Calgary (Canada) during August 13-16, 2006. SDI will present three technical papers on the technology used in RapidChek Select Salmonella during this conference.



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