New food test approved
the Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC) International
Research Institute. The applications are for coliform in chocolate,
liquid egg, whole chicken, ground beef and sausage.
It is not feasible to examine every product for the presence of hazardous micro-organisms such as Campylobacter, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes or enteropathogenic E. coli. However, the presence of coliform bacteria can be used as indicator organisms to determine the sanitary quality of foods.
Coliform bacteria are associated with the intestinal tracts of humans and animals, and their presence outside of the intestines may be an indication of contamination with the fecal discharges of humans or animals.
The AOAC found that the MicroFoss coliform applications were considerably faster than the Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) method, which uses violet red vial agar. One advantage of the MicroFoss system is that it can detect the presence of coliform in products in less than 14 hours compared to 24 hours with the reference method.
At the same time, a similar reproducibility and repeatability was demonstrated, indicating a strong correlation between the two methods. The Danish-based manufacturer Foss believes that this will pave the way for MicroFoss technology to provide a time-saving alternative to BAM for approved coliform applications.
Introduced in 2001, MicroFoss has achieved a fair degree of success, especially in the dairy and meat industries. The concept is designed to make complex microbiological testing a simple and cost-effective process.
The modular, PC-controlled system quantifies a wide range of micro organisms in a convenient way. This offers a significant timesaving advantage compared to traditional analysis techniques. Reduced analysis time helps food producers to spot contaminations earlier and avoid product recalls. In addition, products can be released more quickly - reducing storage costs and extending product shelf life.
The AOAC is an independent organisation of analytical scientists with members throughout the world. The association is dedicated to the development and validation of methods in analytical sciences and improving laboratory quality assurance procedures. The association provides validated methods, proficiency test samples, accreditation criteria, and scientific information to industry, government agencies, and academic institutions.
Currently, AOAC has member scientists from over 90 countries.
The newly approved tests complement existing AOAC-approved coliform tests for a broad range of meat and dairy products. The approval was achieved through the AOAC official methods programme, which validates methods of analysis using tested performance characteristics. Methods proposed for validation are tested in separate, independent laboratories under identical conditions.
