Idaho Technology Inc. Receives AOAC-RI Validation For E.coli O157:H7 Test

On October 6, 2009 ITI was proud to announced that we have been granted Performance Tested Methods Status by the AOAC Research Institute (Certificate No. 100901) for our E.coli O157:H7 test used with the R.A.P.I.D.® LT Food Security System (FSS). The assay uses real-time PCR technology to identify the presence of E.coli O157:H7 in raw ground beef and uncooked spinach food samples.

The system marks a milestone in real-time PCR testing of foodborne pathogens as this platform enables detection of E.coli O157:H7 in less than one hour after only 8 hours of enrichment. The validation studies on ground beef and spinach prove that the R.A.P.I.D. LT FSS performed as well or better than traditional culture methods with faster time to result. The complete system provides the easiest end-to-end protocol for PCR-based detection methods, and the E.coli O157:H7 test joins the Idaho Technology Listeria spp. and Salmonella spp. assays as AOAC-RI approved.

The validation of this rapid screening tool for E.coli is an important development for all food manufacturers since E.coli O157:H7 is a major health problem and is estimated to cause infection in more than 70,000 patients a year in the United States alone. The use of an E.coli O157:H7 screening tool that is both rapid and accurate will permit earlier release of products without fear of potential outbreaks or possible food recalls. The assay is intended for use by trained laboratory personnel.

To read more visit our website at: http://www.idahotech.com/ContactUs/Media.html

Food Safety Tip: Check the temperature of your unit with an appliance thermometer. To slow bacterial growth, the refrigerator should be at 40° F; the freezer, 0° F.

New Food Safety Website

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), most people are clueless about proper safety and storage techniques that can prevent the spread of food borne illnesses—despite the fact that food borne illnesses sicken roughly 76 million people, cause 725,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths in the US every year.

Now there is a new website that answers all of consumer’s food safety questions. The website includes information such as food storage times, minimum cooking temperatures, and fresh produce safety along with the latest recalls and alerts reported. Consumers can also learn more about food borne pathogens such as Salmonella and E. coli, food safety regulations and how the government responds to pathogen outbreaks. Visit http://foodsafety.gov/ to check out the latest in food safety education.

Food Safety Tip: Store perishable fresh fruits and vegetables (like strawberries, lettuce, herbs, and mushrooms) in a clean refrigerator at a temperature of 40° F or below.

Winner of our Online Survey Announced!

We would like to congratulate Keith Schneider from the University of Florida on winning our drawing from our online survey. Keith has won a 16 GB Touch iPod! We hope Keith enjoys it, and we'd like to thank everyone who entered, we appreciate your time in taking the survey and getting your feedback and insights.

The survey was designed to help us better serve the market as we continue to develop our Food Security product line, which consists of our R.A.P.I.D.® LT Food Security System and our assays for detecting foodborne pathogens including Salmonella, Listeria, E.coli O157:H7, Campylobacter, L. mono and more.

For more information on our food security products please visit: http://www.idahotech.com/FoodSecurity/

Keeping Up on Food Safety Regulations

With outbreaks from food-borne illnesses killing an estimated 5,000 Americans each year and sending hundreds of thousands to the hospital, the Obama Administration has made food safety a priority and earlier this year established a new food safety working group. With the increased focus on food safety, here are a few of the new measures in place:

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will help the food industry create better tracking methods to locate the source of a food-borne illness.
• A network will be created to improve communication among all the federal agencies that regulate food safety.
• To find E. coli contamination, the Agriculture Department's Food Safety Inspection Service will increase sampling of ground beef ingredients.
• The FDA has announced a new regulation to help make eggs safer for consumers to eat. The regulation is designed to cut down the number of illnesses caused by eggs contaminated with the bacterium salmonella.

The key now is that eggs will have to be refrigerated from farm to market.

The FDA said salmonella is a major cause of foodborne illness in the United States, and raw or undercooked eggs are a major source of such infections. An estimated 142,000 illnesses each year in the United States are caused by consuming eggs contaminated with salmonella.

To read more visit: http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2009/07/07/us-unveils-stricter-food-safety-standards.html

To learn about Idaho Technology's easy, accurate and timely food pathogen identification system which tests for pathogens such as Salmonella, E.coli O157:H7, Listeria and more please visit: http://www.idahotech.com/FoodSecurity/

NAMP e.Coli Conference

Idaho Technology recently attended and sponsored the National Association of Meat Processors (NAMP) conference August 18-19, 2009 titled “Prevention of E. coli O157:H7 for Further Processors”. It was hosted with the support of the Beef Industry Food Safety Council in collaboration with the USDA FSIS Office of Outreach, Employee Education and Training. The conference featured companies and associations from around the US and Mexico including the American Meat Institute, Consejo Mexicano de la Carne, US Meat Export Federation, Chicago Midwest Meat Association, Southwest Meat Association, American Association of Meat Processors, International HACCP Alliance and others.

Presenters shared their thoughts and research on topics such as the challenges for further processors in North America, types of E. coli testing, intervention technologies, USDA FSIS policies, CFIA regulations, identifying risk exposure, and preparing for a recall. Idaho Technology showcased our R.A.P.I.D.® LT Food Security System with our new E. coli O157:H7 test which detects the presence of E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef and spinach in less than an hour after an enrichment of 8 hours.

To read more about NAMP please visit: http://www.namp.com/namp/Default.asp
To learn more about the R.A.P.I.D. LT Food Security System please visit: http://www.idahotech.com/RAPIDLT/RAPIDLT-FSS.html

Food Safety Tip of the Week: Marinate meat and poultry in a covered dish in the refrigerator.

Updated Software Release Improves Accuracy and Sensitivity of Food Security System

Yesterday we were pleased to announce the release of our new software:

Building on its reputation for speed and accuracy in the food testing marketplace, Idaho Technology, Inc. released software V3.0 for its R.A.P.I.D.® LT Food Security System.The updated software incorporates a proprietary post-PCR melting procedure designed to increase the sensitivity of the R.A.P.I.D. LT Food Security System by using melting temperature and melting curves along with PCR amplification curves to determine the presence or absence of pathogens in a food or environmental sample. This additional feature provides users with increased confidence in the sample result.

This is the first food testing solution that provides both PCR and a melt curve analysis together with fast and reliable automated detection. Results are reported as a simple and clear “Positive” or “Negative.” Additionally, easy-to-use wizard-based protocols give users the ability to run custom assays on the system as well as the ability to run Idaho Technology bio-threat assays and food security assays on the same instrument and software simply by installing the appropriate wizards.

To read the full press release, please visit: http://www.idahotech.com/ContactUs/Media.html

Beef Recall for Salmonella Announced Today

Beef Packers, Inc., a Fresno, California, establishment, is recalling approximately 825,769 pounds of ground beef products that may be linked to an outbreak of salmonellosis, the US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The ground beef products were produced on various dates ranging from 5 Jun 2009 through 23 Jun 2009 and bear the establishment number "EST. 31913" printed on the case code labels. The ground beef products were distributed to retail distribution centers in Arizona, California, Colorado, and Utah. Because these products were repackaged into consumer-size packages and sold under different retail brand names, consumers should check with their local retailer to determine whether they may have purchased any of the products subject to recall.

Please use the following precautions when handling meat:

Wash hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling raw meat and poultry. Also wash cutting boards, dishes and utensils with hot soapy water. Clean up spills right away.

Keep raw meat, fish, and poultry away from other food that will not be cooked. Use separate cutting boards for raw meat, poultry, and egg products and cooked foods.

Cook raw meat and poultry to safe internal temperatures before eating. The safe internal temperature for meat such as beef and pork is 160 deg F [71 deg C], and 165 deg F [74 deg C] for poultry, as determined with a food thermometer.

Refrigerate raw meat and poultry within 2 hours after purchase (1 hour if temperatures exceed 90 deg F [32 deg C]). Refrigerate cooked meat and poultry within 2 hours after cooking.

Please visit http://tinyurl.com/nc6unf for the full story on this recall.