Life Technologies Corporation has received validation from the certification body of Association Francaise de Normalisation (AFNOR) for its MicroSEQ® Listeria spp. and MicroSEQ® Listeria monocytogenes assays, molecular tests that are designed to quickly and accurately detect the presence or absence of this food-borne pathogen that most recently has been associated with an outbreak in cantaloupes.

AFNOR certification, which validates alternative methods according to the ISO standard EN/ISO 16140 and applicable throughout Europe, enables customers there to adopt rapid testing methods with proven performance equivalency standards.The polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based tests, along with Life Technologies full suite of sample preparation solutions and instruments, decreases the time to results (for negative samples) to 24 hours instead of 4-5 days when using the reference method.

The method equivalency findings for both Listeria species and Listeria monocytogenes products, which previously also received AOAC Research Institute validation for use in the United States, mark an important milestone for Life Technologies. The company now has both AOAC and AFNOR validation for its top four testing kits, including MicroSEQ Salmonella spp. and MicroSEQ® E.coli O157:H7. All four validated assays cover 90 percent of pathogens tested by the food industry.

'Considering the rise of high-profile pathogen outbreaks in the last year alone, it's clear that rapid and accurate molecular tests that have been validated by internationally recognized certification bodies is paramount to keep widespread contamination at bay,' said Nir Nimrodi, Vice President and General Manager, Food Safety and Animal Health. 'Life Technologies is creating partnerships with a growing number of customers in order to customize for them the most reliable suite of sample-to-answer detection solutions in support of their unique needs.'

Life Technologies has developed highly accurate and rapid testing solutions for a broad range of food products and environmental samples since 2008. The company has done so by leveraging its whole genome sequencing capabilities to design its assays. AFNOR and AOAC certification for its top four products – MicroSEQ® Listeria spp., Listeria monocytogenes, MicroSEQ® Salmonella spp. and E.coli O157:H7 – applies to the assays, the sample preparation workflow, the real-time PCR instrumentation and the data interpreting software.

Not for use in human diagnostic procedures.