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Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, today announced availability of a testing method that it has developed to help food producers detect deadly Salmonella contamination in their products. The Salmonella Rapid Culture Method delivers highly accurate results in less than 48 hours, compared to up to four days for other methods. The Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC) granted Performance Testing MethodsSM status to this new testing solution.The Salmonella Rapid Culture Method employs two novel culture products in a simple two-step procedure. The AOAC granted Performance Testing Methods status after trials demonstrated that the method delivered consistent, accurate results that can allow food companies to confirm their products are free from Salmonella. For more than 120 years, AOAC has been a proactive, worldwide provider and facilitator in the development, use and harmonization of validated analytical methods and laboratory quality assurance programs and services.
“The recent Salmonella crisis underscores the fact that food producers can never be too vigilant,” said Tom Floyd, president, microbiology products, Thermo Fisher Scientific. “The financial and emotional consequences of even one food safety incident can be staggering, from overnight bankruptcies to, much worse, loss of life. But solutions that detect pathogens should not disrupt the production process, and that’s why we’re committed to delivering technology and methods that are both accurate and rapid. With this method, producers can deliver goods safely to market sooner than with conventional microbiological techniques.”
According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the recent Salmonella outbreak in the U.S., which was first associated with tainted peanut butter, sickened nearly 700 people in 46 states, sent at least 100 people to the hospital and may have contributed to 9 deaths. In a similar Salmonella outbreak in 2007, also linked to peanut butter, more than 600 people were affected at a reported cost of $66 million. Pistachio nuts are the latest food product to be associated with Salmonella, with approximately two million pounds of product being recalled in recent days. Certain spices have also now been associated with a new outbreak centered in California. Currently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Website lists more than 800 recalled products tied to Salmonella.
More information is available on Food Safety and on the Salmonella Rapid Culture Method is available by visiting http://www.remel.com/promotions/salmonella/. Remel is a specialty brand of Thermo Fisher Scientific.
Thermo Scientific is part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science.
http://www.thermo.com/com/cda/newsevents/news_detail/0,,20499,00.html
