Accelerated Analytical Laboratories, a full-service contract cGMP testing laboratory, is proud to announce that the lab has implemented a new environmental test allowing its food production and manufacturing customers to test their environments for SARS-CoV-2. The VERIPRO SARS-CoV-2 Environmental Assay runs on bioMérieux’s GENE-UP® Real-Time PCR system for pathogen detection in food products.

Accelerated Analytical Laboratories, among many other things, supports food industry producers to ensure quality; implement comprehensive food safety and quality strategies; and achieve compliance with local, national, and international regulations. This assay will allow businesses the ability to quickly identify areas of concern, evaluate and improve sanitation protocols and ultimately improve decision making to ensure the safety of employees and customers.

"In the midst of a global pandemic, we want to be taking every precaution possible to ensure the safety of our clients and their consumers and employees, and stop the transmission of any infectious disease to confirm manufacturing environments are safe," said Dave Metzger, president, and CEO of Accelerated Analytical Laboratories. "The VERIPRO SARS-CoV-2 Environmental Assay will allow us to do just that. We are thrilled to be adding another tool to our tool belt to help us in our fight against the spread of COVID-19." 

While the primary path of coronavirus transmission is through person-to-person contact, virus-carrying respiratory droplets can remain on surfaces and transmission can also occur through contact with these surfaces. AOAC INTERNATIONAL launched the ERV program to evaluate and certify the performance of test kits that detect the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus on environmental surfaces. The program provides independent third-party expert review and certification for proprietary test method performance, and the certification mark assures users that an independent assessment found that test method performance meets the appropriate standard for its intended use.

"Implementing environmental testing is a way for businesses to control the spread of COVID-19. Providing a safe facility is a multifaceted approach that can minimize revenue loss caused by ill employees taking time off, and also maintain productivity and employee morale," added Metzger.