The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) have recently adopted a new E. coli O157:H7 detection test for raw beef inspections that allows it to get faster, more accurate results.

The BAX® system from DuPont Nutrition & Health uses PCR to deliver accurate test results in a little more than a day. The automated system is user-friendly and fits easily onto a laboratory bench top. The USDA- FSIS had previously adopted the BAX® system to detect Salmonella in raw and ready-to eat meat, poultry and pasteurized egg products. The agency also uses the system forListeria monocytogenes in red meat, poultry, eggs and environmental samples.

Other assays available are for E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, Listeria genus, Enterobacter sakazakii, Campylobacter jejuni/coli and yeast and mold. Introduced in November 2000, hundreds of BAX® systems are already in use by governments, food companies and laboratories around the world.