Thermo Scientific said this week that its SureTect Listera monocytogenes PCR assay has been granted Performance Tested Method status by the AOAC Research Institute.
L. monocytogenes can be present in a variety of foodstuffs, including some processed meats and cheeses, and in fresh foods such as cantaloupe and raw spinach.
The SureTect system was developed to detect microorganisms quickly and accurately in a broad range of foods and associated samples. The platform features pre-filled lysis tubes and tableted PCR reagents to minimize the number of pipetting steps and hands-on time; a single, optimized enrichment step for key food matrices and straightforward sample lysis in less than 20 minutes; and common PCR protocols to facilitate efficient processing of multiple assays in the same run, according to the company.
Life Technologies said this week that it will be the worldwide distributor of RT-qPCR-based food safety assays developed by the European Centre for Expertise and Research on Microbial Agents, or CEERAM.
Specifically, Life Tech will distribute CEERAM's assays for the detection of norovirus GI, norovirus GII, and hepatitis A; and a mengovirus extraction control kit.
Human norovirus is the most common cause for food-borne disease outbreaks in the US, causing 800 deaths, around 21 million illnesses, and 70,000 hospitalizations each year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Due to the nature of the virus, molecular techniques such as CEERAM's RT-qPCR assays, are the most widely accepted detection method, Life Tech said.