US food safety technology company Neogen Corporation and DNA technology company Hamilton Thorne Biosciences this week announced an agreement to jointly develop 'the next generation' of rapid bacterial food safety tests.
Under the agreement Neogen will license Hamilton Thorne's advanced ramification amplication method (RAM) of genetic detection to develop rapid tests for foodborne bacteria, such as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella and Listeria.
RAM technology is currently used in studies of the genome and diagnostic and drug discovery applications. Adapting RAM technology to food safety applications, claim the two companies, would present numerous advancements to the testing market, including speed and sensitivity.
"As we continue our commitment to offer the best, simplest and fastest food safety tests in the industry, we continue our commitment to advance the technology," said Mark Mozola, Neogen's vice president of research & development.
"We believe that Hamilton Thorne's RAM technology offers an excellent opportunity to advance the speed and accuracy of food safety testing, and we look forward to developing new tests using its principles."
"We are very pleased to enter into a business relationship with a leading company in an important market," said Harry McCoy, Hamilton Thorne's president and COO.