Until now the company has been providing pathogen detection systems and kits to the food industry through third party channels. Robert Barret, vice president for Applied Biosystems' applied markets division said in a statement: "Increasing food safety has become a higher priority globally with government calling for stricter inspections and industry seeking more accurate and faster detection. These inspections are only as good as the tools used to inspect the food for contamination." "Applied Biosystems is committed to putting more powerful pathogen detection capabilities directly into the laboratories of food processors to ensure the food our families eat is safe." Kits available A spokesperson for the company confirmed to FoodProductionDaily.com that one of the first pathogen detection kits to be offered directly to food companies will be the TaqMan Salmonella enterica Detection Kit. This is one of the most prevalent pathogens causing food-borne illness. The Applied Biosystems kit identifies a wide range of Salmonella strains to ensure surveillance and analysis of food products. According to the company, the Salmonella enterica Detection Kit is a real-time PCR-based method that identifies pathogens in food at the molecular level, enabling food companies to "quickly and accurately" detect contamination. Food companies can therefore take "timely action" to prevent outbreaks of food-borne illness and avoid costly recalls of food products. Results can be obtained in less than 24 hours, which is significantly faster than other methods which can take up to five days, claimed Applied Biosystems. Results are obtained through a software-guided assay process that simplifies the use of advanced genetics-based technology. The Salmonella enterica Detection Kit is optimised for use with the company's real-time PCR instrument systems. Kit performance Applied Biosystems says that its Salmonella kit is certified by the AOAC Research Institute and the AFAQ AFNOR Certification board, two prominent food industry certification organisations for validating products used for food safety testing in North America and Europe. Dr Sharon Brunelle, technical consultant at the AOAC said: "Applied Biosystems has demonstrated that the TaqMan Salmonella enterica Detection Kit performs as well or better than the ISO reference method in the Performance Tested Methods certification process." The AOAC Research Institute administers the Performance Tested Methods programme and provides an independent third-party review of test kit performance claims. Applied Biosystems says that it also offers kits to identify E.coli 0157:H7, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus, E. sakazakii, Pseudomonas and Listeria. The company also offers Cliquid Software which it says is the first automated application for detection of food contaminants such as pesticides, dyes and mould-related toxins. Applied Biosystems business focuses on basic and commercial research and standardised testing, including the testing of food. Applied Biosystems is headquartered in Foster City, California. In the UK, the company is based at Warrington. It is part of the Applera Corporation.
