News in Brief
Thermo launches RT PCR test for poultry and pork producers
The RapidFinder Salmonella Multiplex PCR System workflow has been awarded AOAC-RI Performance Tested Methods certification.
It is validated for use on the Applied Biosystems Food Safety 7500 Fast System and the Applied Biosystems Food Safety QuantStudio 5 System.
The workflow features sample preparation and results in 16 hours from raw and cooked poultry and pork and production environment samples.
Many rapid methods are available to detect all Salmonella species but not all can provide the serovar identity of a strain if detected.
To get that information the lab must run additional rapid tests, which can prove expensive, or use conventional biochemical and serological tests that can take several days.
Bernd Hofmann, VP, global marketing, microbiology at Thermo Fisher Scientific, said Salmonella serovars Typhimurium and Enteritidis are most commonly associated with the disease in humans.
“As a result there are multiple strategies and regulations targeting a reduction in the contamination level of these serovars in the poultry and pork industries,” he said.
“To be able to detect three targets in as few as 16 hours now means product may be released two or three days sooner than when using conventional tests."
