Products and Services:
Food, Agriculture, and Environmental
As recent news demonstrates, the greatest nightmare of any farm or food processing plant is the sale and delivery of food-born pathogen contaminated food. Listeria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, and E. coli O157 are of particular concern because they are extremely common in unprocessed food materials and the environment, and can result in significant illness if consumed in a contaminated food. In recent years, it has also been noted that these pathogens are easy to grow and could be used as biological agents to deliberately contaminate agricultural food supplies and restaurants. As a result, many of the over 22,000 food processing establishments with greater than 25 employees are now testing their product before it leaves the processing plant. In 2001, it is estimated that 501.4 million such tests were performed, with a market value of over $1.5 billion. Over the previous 3 years, this market grew at a rate of 5.8%.
Current methods typically employ random sampling, followed by a 24-48 hour enrichment period, with final detection made based on plate colony counts. This testing process is time-consuming and expensive. Over the past ten to fifteen years, and with the onset of antibody-based and now genetic methods, food testing is evolving away from traditional methods.
The use of molecular methods in Agricultural Biotechnology and Food Pathogen Testing continues to grow. Market data estimate a current market size of $46 million for molecular methods, and project a significant growth for the future (Biotech 2000, Lifescience Burril & Company).
Anzen Biosciences has developed a complete panel of Food/Agricultural Pathogen assays which are designed to be used with ZenLyse sample preparation chemistry and the HT-PCR system. We are currently working to upgrade these assays to the new HT-PCR format.
