Test Found Highly Sensitive for E Coli in Food

A study by researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that a test for Escherichia coli O157 called Pathigen was 100 times more sensitive than a dipstick test commonly used to screen food for this type of E coli. The study also found that that the test was almost twice as likely as the dipstick test to detect E coli O157 when the bacteria were present in ground beef at a very low level. The study was reported in the Journal of Rapid Methods and Automation in Microbiology (2001,8;4:249-264).

The Pathigen test is based on Origen technology developed by Igen International Inc. (Gaithersburg, MD, USA). The company reports that other researchers at Norpath Laboratories Ltd., a food-safety testing company in the United Kingdom, independently compared results obtained using the Pathigen E coli O157 test to those found with four screening tests, two types of dipsticks and two commonly used immunosorbent assays. This study found Igen's test was up to 100 times more sensitive than these four methods.

According to Igen, food processors have set a goal of zero tolerance for E coli O157. "An effective zero-tolerance policy requires a test with a high level of sensitivity,” said Richard J. Massey, president of Igen. Its test format provides other advantages as well, notes Igen. The computerized output enables quick archiving of data and tracing of production lots, and the test is easy to perform because all reactions occur in a single test tube.




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