Hygiena™ Receives AOAC Certification for the BAX® System Real-Time PCR Assay Suite for STEC for Detection of Non-O157:H7 STEC in 25g Flour and Ground Beef
Third-party acknowledgement provides European validation for STEC, advance in preventing flour-based outbreaks
CAMARILLO, Calif. (06 February 2018) — Hygiena, a Warburg Pincus portfolio company that specializes in rapid food safety and environmental sanitation testing, today announced it received extensions to its AOAC-Research Institute validation for the BAX® System Real-Time PCR Assay Suite for STEC for two additional matrices: 25g flour and 25g ground beef. AOAC-RI validated the assay as equivalent to the reference culture method for detecting shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), but with faster time to results.
“We are delighted and proud to receive certification from AOAC for these two matrices, which demonstrates to producers and regulators that Hygiena’s BAX® System is an approved method by a recognized accreditation body,” said Dr. Martin Easter, chief scientific officer of Hygiena. “These methods are important tools to help reduce the occurrence of recent and serious outbreaks in these products.”
The flour validation was executed to help US and Canadian producers avoid contamination issues that have persisted in flour, cake and pancake mixes, and raw dough since 2009. The 25g ground beef validation was completed to support European beef producers needing an accredited method for detection of STEC. These producers now can use the BAX® System with confidence that results are accurate and are certified as reliable and reproducible.
Hygiena’s BAX® System Real-Time PCR Assay Suite for STEC validation in 25g ground beef samples was shown to provide reliable and accurate results within a workday, supplying necessary information on pathogen presence. The real-time PCR assay could also accurately, and relatively rapidly, detect STEC in flour samples that, because of their dryness, have defied efforts to detect the bacteria.
About BAX® System
Food processing companies around the world rely on Hygiena’s BAX® System to detect pathogens or other organisms in raw ingredients, finished products and environmental samples. The automated system uses PCR technology to detect Salmonella, Listeria species, Listeria monocytogenes, E.coli O157:H7 and STEC, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio, Cronobacter, Shigella, and yeast and mold. Many of these tests have been certified by AOAC and AFNOR and/or approved by government agencies globally. For more information about the BAX® System please visit www.hygiena.com.
About AOAC
The AOAC Research Institute was incorporated in 1991 as a wholly owned subsidiary of AOAC INTERNATIONAL. The RI serves as an independent, third-party, nongovernment administrator of AOAC conformity assessment programs including the AOAC Performance Tested MethodsSM (PTM) and Official Methods of AnalysisSM (OMA) programs for alternative and sole source methods. The AOAC Performance Tested MethodsSM (PTM) program began in 1992 and has evolved into a premier method certification program for proprietary methods. Methods certified as Performance TestedSM were found to perform according to the manufacturer’s documented claims and are used throughout the global market place and within the regulatory arena.
About HYGIENA
Hygiena delivers rapid microbial detection, monitoring, and identification solutions to a wide range of industries, including food and beverage, healthcare, hospitality, pharmaceuticals, and personal care. Utilizing advanced technologies and patented designs, Hygiena provides industry-leading ATP monitoring systems, PCR-based pathogen detection and characterization systems, allergen tests, environmental collection devices, and more. Hygiena is committed to the mission of providing customers with high-quality innovative technologies that are easy-to-use and reliable, backed by excellent customer service and support. Headquartered in in Camarillo, California with offices in Wilmington, Delaware, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and China, and over 80 distributors in more than 100 countries worldwide, Hygiena products span the globe. www.hygiena.com.