Alaska Food Diagnostics claims its Fastrak Salmonella kit can produce results six hours earlier than comparable methods. Reducing the time salmonella tests can be analysed could reduce delays in shipments waiting on results and improve recall effectiveness if products have already left. Alaska's team of scientists, working at UK government's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in Northern Ireland, have exploited adenylate kinase (AK) phage technology to develop the highly sensitive and specific fastrAK rapid assay system, the company claims. Fastrak Salmonella combines new technology with established culture and immunomagnetic methods, and has been thoroughly tested and validated by leading reference centres, claims Alaska. Pradip Patel, head of microbiology research and development at Alaska said the speed and accuracy of the assay is a real breakthrough. '"We are confident it will make a significant impact in the drive for improved food safety standards" he said. Sample pre-enrichment for 16 hours can be initiated throughout the day, ready for testing the next morning, the manufacturer said. After just two hours, products with known quality control results can be shipped in time to meet ready-to-eat poultry standards, Alaska said. Salmonella is one of the largest causes of food-related illness in Europe. Earlier this year, a study by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published a study that found salmonella in almost one of four broiler chickens. The study found there were 192,703 reported cases of salmonellosis and cases reported during 2004 in the EU's then 25 member states. The cases are out of a total of 400, 000 human cases of zoonoses reported. Most of the cases were foodborne and associated with mild to severe intestinal problems.
