Cronobacter, also known as Enterobacter, is an opportunistic pathogenic bacteria responsible for food borne illness. Cronobacter is able to survive in desiccated states for extended periods of time, which means that it can be a problem in powdered dairy products. Furthermore, Cronobacter is known to cause severe complications in infants such as sepsis, enterocolitis, and meningitis. This means it is important to screen for this organism in infant formulas.
Traditional methods for detection include culturing which can take 3-5 days, involve multiple steps, and a high degree of expertise.
Now there is the Assurance GDS (Genetic Detection System) which offers a Cronobacter species result in just 26 hours for infant formula, powdered milk, and environmental samples. The GDS is a highly sensitive, highly specific, PCR platform which has a proven track record for pathogen screening. The GDS method for Cronobacter is a simple one-step enrichment, followed by amplification and detection in the thermal cycler.
Accuracy, speed, and ease of use means that GDS Cronobacter is suitable for use in most processing plants and laboratories. For further information please contact AMSL Scientific.
02 9882 3666
