SDIX has announced that its RapidChek CONFIRM non-O157 STEC Immunomagnetic Separation (IMS) test kit has been incorporated by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a tool for E.coli testing.
On 4 June 2012, the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) began monitoring testing of six non-O157 shiga toxin producing E. coli (STEC). As a part of this plan, the USDA has incorporated SDIX's testing kit in their testing method.
According to the company, the kit has been listed in the recently updated USDA Microbiological Laboratory Guidebook (MLG) 5B.02 as the IMS reagents to be used in E. coli testing.
The RapidChek testing kit can be used to check six strains of E.coli - O26, O45, O103, O111, O121 and O145, in beef products.
SDIX marketing director Tim Lawruk said the decision by the USDA to incorporate the company's IMS product into their testing method over competitive offerings further validates the performance of SDIX's antibodies.
"Working with the USDA FSIS, we were able to quickly develop and validate these reagents to meet the market's needs," Lawruk added.
In the future, the company is also planning to introduce RapidChek non-O157 test kit featuring multiplexed lateral flow test strips for the verification of non-O157 shiga toxin producing E. Coli.
