Alternative confirmation strategy for Listeria monocytogenes provides rapid results

When it comes to food safety, timely confirmation of pathogens like Listeria monocytogenes is crucial for protecting consumers and maintaining the integrity of the food supply chain. However, traditional confirmation methods often take between 3-7 days, leaving food producers uncertain when making critical decisions.

Over time, various approaches have been developed to reduce confirmation time and enhance sensitivity. The team at Q Laboratories, led by our esteemed Associate Director of Microbiology Operations, Ben Bastin, and Chief Scientific Officer, Erin Crowley, have co-authored a study in the Journal of Food Protection that evaluated an innovative, alternative rapid confirmation method for Listeria monocytogenes. This study, "An Alternative Rapid Confirmation Method for Identifying Listeria monocytogenes from a Variety of 125 g Food Samples Within Two Days of a PCR Presumptive Positive," conducted in collaboration with ConAgra Brands and Merieux NutriSciences, offers a promising solution for pathogen testing, including larger sample sizes.

This alternative confirmation strategy can provide results in just 1-2 days, a significant improvement compared to the traditional approach. This accelerated timeline not only enhances efficiency but also enables food producers to respond promptly to potential contamination events with increased sensitivity critical to the rapid and reliable confirmation of Listeria monocytogenes.

To learn more about this study and its implications for food safety, please click the link below.