NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Qiagen and the Chinese Academy of Sciences said today that they are working together to develop molecular tests to detect food-borne pathogens.
As part of the agreement, the partners have opened a joint laboratory at the Institute of Nutritional Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Biological Sciences, called the CAS/SIBS-Qiagen Laboratory for Food Safety.
Qiagen said it will provide the lab with instruments and consumables while CAS will provide the physical space and researchers. INS scientists will develop QIAplex multiplex assays that will detect up to 50 different pathogens in a single run, the company said.
Chen Yan, director of CAS/SIBS/INS, said in a statement that the collaboration “will aim to raise food safety standards in our country and thereby prevent any harm to the health of our consumers in the future.”
Qiagen said in a statement that the project is in line with the Chinese government’s strategy to “significantly enhance food safety testing, particularly in the dairy sector, following the recent incident involving contaminated dairy products.”