PCR system detects Salmonella in eggs in only 27 hours

//27 Apr 2011

A unique molecular test that detects Salmonella enteritidis (SE) in poultry eggs can provide results up to 10-times faster than traditional methods, said the US company behind the product.

Life Technologies Corp said it has launched the first real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection system to test for SE after receiving an equivalency rating from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The firm said the decision by the FDA recognised that its Applied Biosystems TaqMan Salmonella enteritidis Detection Kit was “equivalent in accuracy, precision and sensitivity to its current standard methods” described in the body’s Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM, December 2007 Edition).

The test, developed with the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, uses PCR technology to determine whether eggs contain SE in just 27 hours – compared to the conventional 10-day turnaround time, said Life Technologies. The company said the breakthrough made it “the only tool of its kind on the market”. The faster testing procedure had been developed in response to the Federal Egg Safety Program. The regulation, which came into force in July 2010, toughened up procedures to prevent the contamination of eggs with SE, it added.