|
|
|
You can get e-magazine links on WhatsApp. Click here
|
|
|
|
|
|
3M Food Safety introduces novel molecular detection system for pathogens
|
|
Saturday, 28 January, 2012, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
|
|
Nandita Vijay, Bangalore
|
3M Food Safety, a company known for providing food safety solutions, is now offering the 3M Molecular Detection System for the food processing industry in the area of pathogen detection.
The new system is a fast, accurate and easy-to-use method of detecting dangerous pathogens like Salmonella, E. coli O157 and Listeria, which could be major threat to public health.
The new system is based on an innovative combination of unique technologies involving isothermal DNA amplification and bioluminescence detection. The system is designed with 3M’s customer testing needs in mind, which translates into a compact, simple, robust system that offers easy implementation and low maintenance without compromising accuracy and reliability.
The instrument is sleek and compact and takes up less counter space than a laptop computer, making it portable and adaptable to various lab environments. Along with being portable and handy, the system can perform the tests with high sensitivity & specificity. It brings down the result time to just 24 hours as compared to the cultural conventional methods and the antigen-antibody methods, which take 3 - 5 days.
It is equipped with software which is easy-to-use with modern tabbed user interface, coloured assay icons to match reagent tubes, ability to multi-task within application, and perform other software functions while runs are in progress. It operates up to four instruments simultaneously - real-time results, positive samples identification during the run, and custom reports and export to PDF, Microsoft Excel and Word.
“The new launch is the result of 3M’s technology and customer-centric approach. We believe that we’ve found a transformational solution that makes for a faster and simpler way of accurately detecting pathogens,” said Deepak Kumar, general manager, 3M Food Safety, 3M India Ltd.
“Just as 3M petrifilm plates succeeded by melding sophistication with simplicity, the 3M molecular detection system optimises technicians’ time and productivity, improving bottom lines, protecting brands and ensuring public health,” he added.
The new system delivers highly accurate results by targeting and amplifying nucleic acid in enriched samples. The automated technology has been evaluated with a variety of food types, including produce, meats, processed foods, pet food and food processing-related environmental samples.
“Pathogen testing has now been made simple and affordable. Food processors will benefit greatly from the system’s affordable accuracy and fast time to results, minimising downtime in the lab. Numerous organisms can be tested in a single run and it was designed to help our customers perform fewer repeat tests and make critical decisions faster,” said Niki Montgomery, 3M Food Safety global marketing development manager.
According to a report by Hyderabad-based Food and Drug Toxicology Research Centre, in India, an estimated 400,000 children below five years age die every year due to diarrhoea. About 70% of these deaths are said to be of food-borne origin. Another fact reveals that as much as 80% of illnesses are linked to poor water and sanitation conditions. Recent studies carried out during 1995- 2005 showed that the incidence of food-borne disease outbreaks were due to the microorganisms like Salmonella, E.coli, Campylobacter Jejuni or Y. Enterocolitica.
In this scenario, it is food manufacturer’s responsibility to provide safe food to the customers, hence testing for pathogens like Salmonella, E.coli, Listeria, etc. becomes very important for the brand protection and business protection. With the help of technologies like the new system, it will be easy for companies to identify any food spoilage which can cause the food poisoning. Also, since the time to result with the new system is only 24 hours, food processing plants can release quality product without any delay.
As part of the new system platform, individual, pathogen-specific assays, or procedural tests, will be sold as test kits. Each assay test kit uses the same software interface and same DNA extraction protocol for testing between one and 96 samples per run. Assays for Salmonella, E. coli O157 (including H7) and Listeria are available immediately; a test for Listeria monocytogenes is expected in early 2012. 3M will continue to invest in developing a full portfolio of pathogen testing solutions to address customer needs.
Independent laboratory studies with the new system are currently underway to pursue global method recognitions.
“In our evaluation of the Listeria species assay, we liked the small footprint of the system as well as the quick delivery of results after sample enrichment,” said Dr Martin Wiedmann, a professor in Cornell University’s department of food science, who studied the system’s analyses of samples taken from meat-packing, seafood processing and retail locations.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|