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 demonstrate 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.