Neogen Corporation has developed the quickest and easiest test system to definitively detect pathogen DNA in food and environmental samples.

Neogen’s revolutionary ANSR for Salmonella is the first pathogen test available for the system, and will provide results after only 10 minutes of reaction time. Other commercially available molecular amplification tests require up to 3 hours of reaction time. Unlike the older molecular technologies, ANSR requires only a single reaction temperature, which completely eliminates the time-consuming heating and cooling cycles of the 20-year-old polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods.

The ANSR system is being introduced next week at the joint Food Marketing Institute, American Meat Institute, United Fresh and National Association of State Departments of Agriculture conference in Dallas.

“ANSR provides the food industry both the DNA-definitive test results they need, and the much easier and quicker methodology they want,” said James Herbert, Neogen’s CEO and chairman. “Recent food recalls have emphasized the point that the food industry needs easier, quicker and more precise pathogen tests to lessen the chance that contaminated food products ever reach the consumer. Neogen’s ANSR is that new technology.”

Neogen’s ANSR is an isothermal amplification reaction test method that exponentially amplifies the DNA of any bacteria present in food and environmental samples to detectable levels in only 10 minutes. Combined with ANSR’s single enrichment step, Neogen’s new pathogen detection method can provide DNA-definitive results for Salmonella in as little as 10 hours from the time the sample is taken.

“The ANSR system was designed to combine molecular-level accuracy with a scalable low-cost instrument and a methodology that can be easily incorporated into any testing laboratory’s existing workflow,” said Ed Bradley, Neogen’s vice president of Food Safety. “The system’s small benchtop footprint and extremely simple procedure make it an easy fit in any laboratory setting.”

Additional tests for the ANSR platform currently are in development for Listeria spp., Listeria monocytogenes and non-O157 STECs.

Neogen now offers an unmatched industry-specific range of microorganism testing products, experience and expertise — from simple low-throughput immunoassays to fully automated pathogen and spoilage organism platforms, to a comprehensive catalogue of high quality dehydrated culture media, to DNA genotyping technology through its NeoSEEK genomic profiling and serotyping service.

Neogen Corporation develops and markets products dedicated to food and animal safety. The company’s Food Safety Division markets dehydrated culture media, and diagnostic test kits to detect foodborne bacteria, natural toxins, genetic modifications, food allergens, drug residues, plant diseases and sanitation concerns.