GeneDisc® Rapid Microbiology System - Food Testing Applications

According to World Health Organization estimates, contaminated food leads to two billion illnesses and 1.8 million deaths annually. The GeneDisc Rapid Microbiology System supplies the user with simple, rapid and robust microbiological analytical solutions for the following food testing areas:

• STEC: Shiga Toxic Escherichia coli

  The GeneDisc system can detect not only E. coli, but it is even specific and sensitive enough to identify and detect only strains which are pathogenic. GeneDisc products offer various combinations of targets for the detection of pathogenic E. coli that answer user specific needs and follow the requirements of both USDA FSIS MLG5B and European CEN ISO TS 16136. Learn more...

• Pathogenic E. coli O157

  All stx, eae and O157 assays are performed in a single action, with results available within as little as nine hours from sample to results. Learn more...

• Top 6 non-O157 STEC

  Enables specific detection of the top six non-O157 serogroups (O26, O91, O103, O111, O121 and O145) as well as virulence genes (stx and eae). The GeneDisc PCR system covers the USDA FSIS and CEN EFSSA regulatory requirements respectively for the screening of Top 6 non O157 and Top 5 STEC in food.

• Salmonella

  Enables specific detection of Salmonella. Learn more...
  

• Listeria

  Enables quantification and identification of Listeria. Learn more...

New Product Update

Pall's latest GeneDisc Cycler is an automated, real-time PCR system providing rapid, sensitive and specific pathogen detection. Its intuitive design and easy-to-use software allows even minimally-trained personnel to routinely perform sophisticated biological testing.

With the capability to generate up to 480 results per hour from up to 96 samples, the unique, modular nature of the GeneDisc Cycler offers the flexibility to fit your work flow requirements and to process different applications simultaneously. It also provides the necessary technological controls required for the use of Electronic Records and Electronic Signatures (ERES) in a regulated environment. Thanks to the minimal handling of PCR components, it also ensures highly accurate and reproducible data. The GeneDisc Cycler forms part of the GeneDisc Rapid Microbiology system – a robust qPCR platform for the detection of pathogens in a matter of hours.

Learn more...

Some species of Escherichia coli (E. coli) have the potential to be pathogenic to humans. Among these are the shigatoxigenic group of E. coli (known as STEC or VTEC). These are E. coli which produce shiga toxins (also known as verotoxine). These proteins are described by the Stx genes (stx1 and/or stx2) and may produce symptoms ranging from simple diarrhea to hemorrhagic diarrhea.

Performing molecular biology assays which target specific E. coli stx genes can enable the reliable detection of such STEC.

View information about GeneDisc plates for detection of pathogens in food.

Pathogenic Shiga Toxin-producing E. coli

Among these STEC, some bacteria may be lethal to humans, especially infants under five years old. These pathogenic STEC have been very well described (USDA FSIS MLG05B; US Federal Register 2011, Vol. 76, No. 182, p 58157-65), CEN ISO TS13136).

The bacteria is not only producing the shiga toxin (stx gene) but they can also attach to the intestinal wall thanks to an adhesine (the protein Intimin) encoded by the eae gene. The E. coli carrying these two genes (stx and eae) have previously been identified as being responsible for severe human disease like Hemolytic and Uremic Syndrome (HUS). Thus Pathogenic STEC O157 and Top6 non-O157 STEC are E. coli which carry the stx and eae genes among the following serogroups: E. coli O157:H7, E. coli O145, E. coli O111, E. coli O103, E. coli O26, E. coli O91 and E. coli O121.

Our Solution

Developed for use as part of the GeneDisc System, Pall offers GeneDisc plates for the detection of pathogens in food, including the top 7 STEC serogroups with their associated virulent genes.

As the GeneDisc plates for detection of pathogens in food target these pathogenic strains of E. coli they reduce the number of false-positives (non-pathogenic E. coli).

Pall has developed the first comprehensive molecular diagnostics test that enables:

• Rapid detection of pathogenic E. coli O157:H7 and STEC non-O157
• Identification of the Top5 STEC or Top6 non O157 STEC or Top7 STEC with their virulence factors

After an enrichment phase of eight to sixteen hours, GeneDisc plates for STEC screening allows detection of pathogenic genes for E. coli (stx & eae) and also the identification of all Top5 or Top6 or Top7 STEC. Thanks to the easy-to-use GeneDisc System, this rapid test may be carried out either onsite or within service laboratories.

Please contact us for more information on STEC GeneDisc plates.