Research Takes Aim at Minimizing Impacts of Listeria

According to Wakefield, benefits of Solus One Listeria, which is AOAC certified (PTM No. 051802), include a significant reduction of technician hands-on time. “High sample throughput can be achieved with a single instrument, giving the laboratory the ability to cope with fluctuating sample volumes, and also improving capacity to grow,” Wakefield relates.

Same-Shift Listeria Results

CERTUS, Chicago, Ill., expects to make commercially available on Sept. 15, 2018 a new in-house pathogen testing system that offers real-time detection and same shift results. To start, the CERTUS System is focusing on environmental Listeria detection, according to John Coomes, company president.

“The CERTUS System utilizes surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy nanoparticle technology,” Coomes relates. “As part of its path to AOAC validation, which is expected in August this year, the CERTUS System recently underwent an intensive battery of performance-based tests proving detection of Listeria species at 1 x 10⁴ colony forming units (CFUs) during a standard eight-hour work shift. Results also show that 1 CFU of Listeria monocytogenes can be detected in as little as 18 hours from swab to result.”

Coomes says tests demonstrate the CERTUS System’s ability to detect Listeria in produce wash samples known to have high bioburden. “With a range of matrices that include stainless steel, ceramic, plastic, and concrete sample sites, the CERTUS system provides 98 percent accuracy, which is equivalent to other commercial pathogen detection systems that are much more complex, have longer prep times and require expensive laboratories and technicians,” he points out. “Moreover, inclusivity and exclusivity test results have demonstrated that all challenging strains of Listeria are accurately detected with the CERTUS System, and interfering bacteria are
excluded from results.”

The CERTUS System is comprised of a detection unit, consumable detection kits featuring trademarked Bio-Lock sampling swabs, and the control pad. “The CERTUS control pad includes complimentary facility management software that enables plant test scheduling, test site result mapping, instant notifications, and remediation management, while automatically recording critical data points that support Food Safety Modernization Act compliance and storing data for instant access to reporting,” Coomes notes.

Coomes believes a major benefit of the CERTUS System’s combination of in-house capability and real-time detection is that food processors can have test results in-hand in less time than it takes for a third-party lab to receive samples by mail.