While at the 2015 International Production & Processing Expo, QIAGEN Inc. will also be highlighting their newly approved mericon® Pathogen Detection Assays for Listeria species and Listeria monocytogenes. This product received AOAC Performance Tested MethodSM (PTM) certification from the AOAC-Research Institute at the end of 2014. The AOAC, an independent third party international organization that evaluates analytical methods for food safety and other applications, validated the two assays with single enrichment in selected foods from meat, seafood, fruit/vegetable and dairy sectors, and in environmental tests on common food production surfaces. The AOAC evaluation assures food companies and laboratories that QIAGEN’s mericon kits and the QIAsymphony RGQ automation platform have been demonstrated to reliably detect Listeria spp. (PTM #061402) and L. monocytogenes (PTM #061401) in various food matrices and environmental surfaces.
Contamination of produce and other foods with Listeria monocytogenes and related bacterial species can cause serious, life-threatening infections. The Centers for Disease Control, calling listeriosis “an important public health problem,” estimates the invasive infection sickens about 1,600 people in the U.S. and causes an annual average of about 260 deaths. In 2011, the largest single U.S. outbreak – associated with cantaloupe from one farm – caused 147 persons to become ill, caused 33 deaths and one miscarriage. Older adults, pregnant women, newborns and adults with weakened immune systems are most vulnerable.
“QIAGEN is addressing the critical needs of today’s food safety market with a broad range of pathogen detection assays and an efficient and complete workflow on our renowned QIAsymphony RGQ automation platform. This now AOAC-PTMSM validated mericon assay platform for Listeria offers food producers and laboratories an important solution for protecting food from contamination with this dangerous pathogen,” said Dr. Marcia Armstrong, Scientific Affairs Manager, Life Sciences Business Area. “We are very pleased to add Listeria to our content menu with the AOAC-certified mericon Salmonella Pathogen Detection Kit. The mericon assay platform represents the broadest portfolio on the market providing highly sensitive and specific molecular detection of pathogen nucleic acids for users safeguarding the food supply chain. Ready-to-use pathogen detection kits combined with the QIAsymphony RGQ automation enable users to process over 400 samples in a 12-hour shift.”
Highly flexible and scalable, QIAGEN’s food safety product line addresses every stage of the workflow, from automated extraction to target detection. QIAGEN expects to seek additional AOAC certifications for a range of pathogen assays, such as E. coli O157 and Campylobacter. In addition to PCR-based detection of pathogens, QIAGEN provides systems for the identification and quantification of DNA from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and for the authentication of important ingredients.
Please stop by QIAGEN’s booth number A412 or attend their Farm to Fork Customer Appreciation Event on January 29, 2014 from 5:00-6:30pm EST at Georgia World Congress Center, Room A410 to learn more about this and other QIAGEN animal health and food safety products.