The Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA) has purchased a DuPont Nutrition & Health RiboPrinter® system to create a database of microorganisms that are identified by geographic region. This information will help the agency understand which pathogens in which foods are affecting the Brazilian population.

The RiboPrinter® system will also be used in MAPA’s Pathogen Reduction Plan for the meat and poultry industries. The plan requires that all positive results for Salmonella and Listeria be identified and characterized by genus and species. In this context, the RiboPrinter® system will be used for the identification, characterization and development of an electronic database containing patterns of all ribotyped strains of bacteria identified in the food samples.

According to Josinete Barros de Freitas, chief of the Audits and Accreditation division and responsible for MAPA’s microbiology department, "In addition to the RiboPrinter® system adoption, MAPA has also approved the BAX® system as the Official Reference Method for detecting Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes in foods and environmental samples, reflecting MAPA’s strong commitment toward food safety in the Brazilian market."

The patented RiboPrinter® system is the world’s only automated DNA fingerprinting instrument that rapidly pinpoints sources of bacteria. The system produces and compares a genetic “snapshot”—a RiboPrint™ pattern—against a database of more than 6,000 patterns to identify a potential pathogen in only eight hours. Because the RiboPrinter® system can include historical information and also characterize bacteria below the species level, food producers and processors can track groups of offending microbes and recognize trends in the environment.

MAPA has also recently issued the AUP (Product Use Authorization) authorizing the use of the DuPont™ Lateral Flow System™ in the Brazilian territory. These immunoassay-based test strips can be used to detect Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli O157.