DuPont Nutrition & Health have announced that it's BAX® system for detecting Listeria has been certified as Performance Tested Method No. 030502 by the AOAC Research Institute of Gaithersburg, MD.

Validation studies compared BAX® system performance to the standard culture method used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service, which requires a 48-hour dual enrichment and manual plating. AOAC-RI found that the automated BAX® system performed as well as the culture method for detecting Listeria species on environmental surfaces such as plastic, ceramic, rubber, concrete, wood, cast iron and air filter material.

Moreover, proprietary BAX® system media combines a single enrichment step with shorter incubation times, so that results are available about 30-33 hours after sampling.

The BAX® detection system is an innovative DNA-based technology for screening raw ingredients, finished products and environmental samples for pathogens or other organisms. The BAX® system provides polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays to detect Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Listeria species, E. coli O157:H7 and Enterobacter sakazakii. Optimized media are also available for some assays.