Anja Bubeck-Barrett, Roka Bioscience, Inc., San Diego, CA
Bettina Groschel, Roka Bioscience, Inc., San Diego, CA
Kristin Livezey, Roka Bioscience, Inc., San Diego, CA
Hua Yang, Roka Bioscience, Inc., San Diego, CA
William Kwong, Roka Bioscience, Inc., San Diego, CA
Apolonia Huerta, Roka Bioscience, Inc., San Diego, CA
Celina Puente, Roka Bioscience, Inc., San Diego, CA
Steve Vaughn, Roka Bioscience, Inc., San Diego, CA
Brett Maroni, Roka Bioscience, Inc., San Diego, CA
Kevin Tsao, Roka Bioscience, Inc., San Diego, CA
Julian Kougl, Roka Bioscience, Inc., San Diego, CA
Michele Wisniewski, Roka Bioscience, Inc., San Diego, CA
Joe Garcia, Roka Bioscience, Inc., San Diego, CA
Bernadine Luong, Roka Bioscience, Inc., San Diego, CA
Edgar Kamantique, Roka Bioscience, Inc., San Diego, CA
Chad Fleischer, Roka Bioscience, Inc., San Diego, CA
Brett Weaver, Roka Bioscience, Inc., San Diego, CA
Jarrod Morgan, Roka Bioscience, Inc., San Diego, CA
Michael Reshatoff, Roka Bioscience, Inc., San Diego, CA
Michael Becker, Roka Bioscience, Inc., San Diego, CA
Erin Crowley, Q Laboratories, Inc., Cincinnati, OH
Patrick Bird, Q Laboratories, Inc., Cincinnati, OH
Benjamin Bastin, Q Laboratories, Inc., Cincinnati, OH
Introduction: Rapid
methods are necessary for the detection of pathogenic
Escherichia coli O157:H7, non-O157 STEC, and
Salmonella in the beef and fresh produce industry at appropriate sample sizes in accordance with industry needs. The use of a non-proprietary, harmonized enrichment media significantly streamlines the testing process for these pathogens, as well as considerably reduces cost by eliminating the need to prepare multiple enrichments.
Purpose: To validate the use of a harmonized enrichment media to detect E. coli O157:H7, non-O157 STEC, and Salmonella in artificially inoculated ground beef and romaine lettuce samples with Atlas E. coli and Salmonella assays.
Methods: 375 g test portions were inoculated with low levels of E. coli O157:H7, non-O157 STEC and Salmonella and diluted 1:5 in modified Tryptic Soy Broth + 10 g/l casamino acids (mTSB) for ground beef and Universal Pre-enrichment Broth (UPB) for romaine lettuce. All samples were enriched for 10 - 12h at 42°C, transferred into a Sample Tube and loaded onto the instrument. The instrument combines target capture, transcription-mediated amplification, and hybridization protection assay. The results of the candidate methods were compared to the FSIS and FDA reference methods.
Results: E. coli O157:H7, non-O157 STEC, and Salmonella were specifically detected after 10 - 12h enrichment in 375 g ground beef and lettuce samples. All three Atlas assays performed equally compared to the respective reference methods determined by POD analysis.
Significance: The E. coli O157:H7 EG2 Detection Assay, STEC EG2 Combo Detection Assay, and Salmonella G2 Detection Assays provide fast and highly accurate detection of E. coli O157:H7, non-O157 STEC, and Salmonella in 375 g ground beef and lettuce samples using a non-proprietary commercially available media. The harmonized media provides a simplified testing process with significant economic and efficiency advantages along with the highly accurate results required.
