New BAX® System Real-Time STEC Assay Suite Now Available Alongside the Thermo Scientific Range

Thermo Fisher Scientific have announced the availability of the new DuPont Qualicon BAX® System Real-Time STEC Assay Suite.

Protecting consumers from pathogenic Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) just got easier. The new BAX® System STEC Assay Suite includes a screening assay and two panel assays. The screening assay detects STEC virulence genes (stx1, stx2 and eae), quickly and conveniently ruling out negative samples. The panel assays determine which of the six clinically most significant STEC serogroups identified over the past 20 years (O26, O111, O121, O45, O103 and O14) a positive sample contains.

With the BAX® System STEC Assay Suite is simple to use. Single-stage enrichment is complete in as little as nine hours. Dual tests for STEC and O157:H7 can be run from the same prepared sample (also used for the panel assays). With no need for additional sample prep between tests, hands-on time and the risk of cross-contamination are reduced. Rapid real-time processing delivers results in less than one hour, allowing food processors to make product-release decisions quickly and with confidence.

The BAX® System allows food laboratories to easily, quickly and accurately detect organisms in raw ingredients, finished products and environmental samples. The cycler/detector allows samples to be loaded and left to run. Interpreted results are clearly displayed on-screen, with raw data easily accessible.

Food testing laboratories around the world have made the BAX® system an integral part of their quality assurance systems due to its tremendous impact on their operations - from decreased false positives and minimized re-testing, to reduced employee training and faster product time to market. The speed and accuracy of DNA-based detection; the simplicity of the load-it and leave-it operation; the familiarity of the Microsoft™ Windows™ interface: The BAX® system combines all this, for smooth testing procedures at any stage in the processing pipeline.

Assays for the BAX® System Q7 include: Salmonella, Genus Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Staphylococcus aureus, Campylobacter coli/jejuni/lari, E. sakazakii (Cronobacter), Vibrio cholerae/parahaemolyticus/vulnificus, yeast and mould and now the new, BAX® Real-Time STEC Assay Suite.

To find out more about the new BAX® Real-Time STEC Assay Suite and other BAX assays available alongside Thermo Scientific products in Europe, Canada and Australia, contact your local Thermo Scientific representative.