Salmonella


Background:  Salmonella spp. is one of the most common causes of food-borne illness, with about 1.4 million cases of Salmonellosis occurring annually in the United States.

Although Salmonella traditionally was thought of as being associated with animal products in the past, fresh produce also has been the source of major outbreaks, particularly recently.  The organism also survives well on low-moisture foods, such as spices, which have been the vehicles for large outbreaks.

A few examples of foods that have been linked to Salmonella illness include meats, poultry, eggs, milk and dairy products, fish, shrimp, spices, yeast, coconut, sauces, freshly prepared salad dressings made with unpasteurized eggs, cake mixes, cream-filled desserts and toppings that contain raw egg, dried gelatin, peanut butter, cocoa, produce (fruits and vegetables, such as tomatoes, peppers, and cantaloupes), and chocolate.

The BAX System uses DNA-based technology to provide next-day results that are reliable and reproducible, allowing food producers and processors to quickly and accurately release safe products to the market.


Method

Equipment

Turn Around Time

Sample Required

Type of Test

Reportable Units

Detection Limit

Related Resources

AOAC 081201, 2013.02 BAX Real-Time PCR  ISO Accredited

BAX System

1 Business Day

25g to 375 g or Swab

Qualitative Pathogen Analyses

Negative or Positive per 25g or 375g or swab analyzed

One Viable Cell per 25g or 375g or swab analyzed

Link FDA Bad Bug Book Version 1 – Salmonella spp.

PDF FDA Bad Bug Book Version 2 – Salmonella spp.


This is a Quantitative analysis, this test will detect if only one Salmonella spp. cell is present, therefore resulting in a Negative or Positive result.  This assay does not tell you how much of the pathogen is present.

Standard sample sizes are one swab, 25g, 65g or 375g.  Representative sample portions are collected from sample submitted, mixed with highly selective enrichment media and incubated for 12 to 26 hours (depending on sample size and matrix).  After incubation, cells from the sample enrichment are broken open to expose their DNA, which, if the target Salmonella DNA is present, will be copied thousands of times, allowing for detection via the BAX Real Time PCR Salmonella spp. assay.


Customers desiring cultural confirmation of positive pathogen enrichments must request so within 24 hours of MBL reporting the positive pathogen result.