Pathogen Testing Made Pure and Simple - 3M South Africa Launches Molecular Detection System

Consumers trust companies to deliver safe, quality foods every day. Pathogens are a real threat to public health and to your business. 3M listened to these concerns and created a fast, simple detection method – a solution that delivers accurate results, has a positive impact on your bottom line, and protects your brand.

3M’s Food Safety Division launched the 3M Molecular Detection System for pathogen testing at its Woodmead offices on Tuesday, 31 July, 2012. The Molecular Detection System is powered by an innovative combination of unique technologies — Isothermal DNA Amplification and Bioluminescence Detection — to provide a solution that is fast, accurate, easy-to-use and affordable.

So why test for pathogens and what keeps food producers awake at night? Jonathan Walsh, 3M Technical Manager of the Food Safety Department for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region outlined these as: firstly, to protect your brand; secondly, there is a huge fear of litigation; thirdly, legislation requires increased testing with the laws continually changing; fourthly, the number of highly publicised food poisoning outbreaks is increasing globally; and last, but not least, customer food safety awareness of the risks of food poisoning are increasing. “When a food poisoning outbreak takes place it affects not only your brand but the food industry as a whole. That said, we need to be vigilant to make sure our products are not the ones that end up on the front covers of newspapers,” added Walsh.

Microbiologist, Dr Louise Mare - 3M South Africa’s Food Safety Technical Service Specialist - said that, after many years of research, 3M has developed and created a product that will provide a solution for brands. Dr Mare added “the 3M Molecular Detection is pure and simple”. 3M went into the market and gathered research directly from those persons who do hundreds of pathogen tests day in and day out and asked them what they need and, based on this information, the unique Molecular Detection System for pathogen testing was developed.

Amplification and detection occur simultaneously and continuously during the exponential phase indicating the presence of target organism DNA in real time, giving positive results in as early as 15-20 minutes and negative results in 75 minutes.

Individual assays for Salmonella, E. coli 0157 (including H7), Listeria and Listeria monocytogenes are available in easy to distinguish colour-coded kits.  With ready-made reagents and only one test protocol for all target pathogens, the system is easy to use, allows for multiple pathogen detection during each run and reduces the chance for human error or contamination.

The technology has been evaluated with a variety of food types, including dairy products, meats, processed foods, and food processing-related environmental samples.