Meat+Poultry - January 2020 - 75

RAISE
THE BAR

FOOD SAFETY

TESTING OPTIONS
Bio-Rad specializes in two major areas
in testing technology for pathogens in
food: PCR testing and chromogenic
media testing.
PCR is a technology for testing
food for the presence or absence of
pathogens such as E. coli, Salmonella,
Listeria and others. It is based on the
pathogen's DNA, and its great strength
in food testing is the rapid detection of pathogens in meat and poultry products.
Chromogenic media testing consists
of agar plates, using an enzymatic reaction to pathogens and bacteria to turn
certain colors. " Say you're looking for
Salmonella or non-Salmonella bacteria. Different colors would show the
differentiation, " Clark explains. This
is a rapid technology as well, certainly
faster than classical methods of testing technology.
Three months ago, Bio-Rad
Laboratories launched its dd-Check
solution for food safety testing. The kit
is powered by Droplet Digital PCR and
can test the genome of each individual
E. coli bacterium to search for virulence genes associated with pathogenic
(disease-producing) STEC (Shiga toxinproducing E. coli) and confirms positive results faster than culture-based
traditional methods. The company also
offers iQ-Check Real-Time PCR kits, a
fast PCR detection method for various pathogens.

Intralytix Inc.

DETECTION VS. PREVENTION
Clark notes testing technology doesn't
prevent pathogens from showing
up in food products or processing
environments but helps find them.
Prevention is accomplished using
HACCP, sanitation or other good
manufacturing practices.
At 3M, the company creates and
supplies innovative solutions that help
food and beverage producers optimize
the quality and safety of many products, explains Raj Rajagopal, senior
global technical service specialist at 3M
Food Safety.

on Quality
in 2020

SalmoFresh was developed to help
eliminate the risk of salmonellosis.

" Our 3M Molecular Detection
System solution for pathogen testing
receives a high level of attention due
to its unique chemistry, simplicity,
ease of use and the fact it's been added
to USDA's Microbiology Laboratory
Guidebook, " he says.
Rajagopal says while many pathogens can cause foodborne illnesses,
depending on the food products,
in the meat and poultry industry,
most dangers are provoked by E.
coli (O157 and non-O157 STEC),
Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes
and Campylobacter.
Several factors lend themselves
to more recalls, Rajagopal explains.
They include better testing technology,
finding food safety problems quicker,
more pathogens in poultry and meat
with processors initiating recalls to
get problem products off the market
rather than waiting for USDA or FDA
to request recalls.
" We are seeing an increasing number of food processors and laboratories
requiring and implementing molecular
detection methods for pathogen detection, " Rajagopal says. " In comparison
to traditional culture methods or
immunoassay-based methods, molecular methods offer higher detection
sensitivity and specificity. They can
reduce the testing process, not just by
hours, but by days.

booth #7866

The MadgeTech
RFOT and FREE
software ensure
quality and safety
of every batch

6 Warner Road
Warner, NH 03278
madgetech.com
(603) 456-2011

http://www.madgetech.com

Meat+Poultry - January 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meat+Poultry - January 2020