Food microbiology laboratories can confidently test to a recognized standard for E. coli O157:H7 with the Thermo Scientific SureTect Escherichia coli O157:H7 assay, which has been granted a NF VALIDATION certificate by AFNOR Certification.

The SureTect E. coli O157:H7 PCR assay has been shown to be comparable to the reference method ISO 16654:2001 – Microbiology of Food and Animal Feeding Stuffs Horizontal Method for the Detection of Escherichia coli O157 – when testing samples of seasoned and unseasoned raw beef.

The AFNOR-certified method provides harmonized enrichment for both Salmonella species and E. coli O157:H7 using the same broth, which offers both cost benefits and workflow efficiencies.

"We are delighted to have received validation certification for our E. coli O157:H7 PCR assay, which is one of a number of assays we offer for molecular food testing," said David Panneton, VP Vice President, Commercial Operations, Microbiology, Thermo Fisher Scientific. "These assays are part of the SureTect Real-Time PCR system, which has been designed with reduced steps to simplify the test workflow and reduce time to result, primary considerations in today’s pathogen test selection. Our complete range of SureTect assays now has NF VALIDATION certification by AFNOR Certification, and all assays have been granted performance Tested Method status by the AOAC Research Institute.”

Thermo Fisher developed the SureTect system to detect microorganisms quickly and accurately in a broad range of foods and associated samples. This unique solution offers food producers and contract laboratories the following:

• Quick actionable results, with a fast, optimized single enrichment step and automatic result interpretation.
• Efficient operations, with streamlined lysis and PCR protocols that allow for the detection of multiple targets in the same run.
• Throughput flexibility, with continuous or batch processing possible for up to 120 samples in 80 minutes.
• Convenience, with pre-filled lysis tubes and tableted PCR reagents to minimize the number of pipetting steps and hands-on time.