Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Exhibit Hall D (Indiana Convention Center)
Erin Crowley, Q Laboratories, Inc., Cincinnati, OH
Patrick Bird, Q Laboratories, Inc., Cincinnati, OH
Jonathan Flannery, Q Laboratories, Inc., Cincinnati, OH
M. Joseph Benzinger, Q Laboratories, Inc., Cincinnati, OH
Kiel Fisher, Q Laboratories, Inc., Cincinnati, OH
Paige Bedinghaus, Q Laboratories, Inc., Cincinnati, OH
James Agin, Q Laboratories, Inc., Cincinnati, OH
David Goins, Q Laboratories, Inc., Cincinnati, OH
Meredith Sutzko, Romer Lab Technologies, Inc., Newark, DE
Mark Muldoon, Romer Labs Technologies, Inc., Newark, DE
Introduction: Outbreaks linked to
Listeria monocytogenes cause grave concern to manufacturers and producers. Listeriosis, the disease caused by the bacterium
, while rare, has a high mortality rate, especially among the younger, the elderly and the immuno-compromised. The food industry needs to have methods that can rapidly detect the organism, yet are sensitive enough to detect the pathogen in low quantities. The RapidChek
Listeria F.A.S.T. Environmental System offers the benefits of a single, proprietary enrichment, coupled with innovative immuno-strips technology to allow processers and manufacturers the ability to detect the dangerous pathogen from food production surfaces in only 24 hours. The new method couples rapid and accurate results, without the need to purchase expensive capital equipment.
Purpose: The purpose of this evaluation was to conduct a method comparison on the new method, along with two commercially-available enzyme immunoassays and two PCR assays, for the detection of Listeria spp. on stainless steel environmental surfaces.
Methods: Using unpaired samples, each method was evaluated against 30 stainless steel test portions: 20 test portions inoculated at a low inoculation level of ~50 CFU/4”x4”; 5 test portions inoculated at a high inoculation level of ~100 CFU/4”x4”; and 5 uninoculated control test portions. After sample enrichment and incubation, test portions were assayed by the instructions for use (IFU) from each of the five rapid methods. Samples were confirmed following procedures outlined in the USDA/FSIS-MLG 8.09.
Results: Results for each assay were compared to the MLG method by a POD statistical analysis. No significant differences were observed between the new method and the reference method.
Significance: This new method demonstrated reliability as an easy-to-use, rapid method for the detection of Listeria species on environmental surfaces.
