Technology Rules.
Results Matter.
Fast, accurate results are critical for delivering safer food products for
consumers and are more profitable growth for food companies.
That’s why, at DuPont Qualicon, our food safety science is focused
on continually developing state-of-the-art technologies that are faster and
more accurate. In fact, for more than a decade, we have been revolutionizing food safety.
Historyof Leadership in Innovation
DuPont Qualicon was the first company to apply polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology to food testing. PCR is a fast and simple way to
replicate DNA fragments from very
minute amounts of source materials. Our use of automated PCR
processing with tableted rather
than liquid reagents created a dramatic increase in speed and consistency—helping to usher in a
new era of easy-to-use testing
methodology with more accurate
results.
We were also the first to develop rapid, DNA-based assays
for Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7
and Listeria monocytogenes. Our expertise in DNA testing also led to the
first genetics-based assay for detecting yeast and mold in food within 48
hours—a significant improvement over traditional cultures that usually take
up to five days to produce results.
Our unwavering focus on delivering increased speed and accuracy in
food testing landed us on the R&D 100 Most Important Technological Developments list for two years in a row and helped DuPont win the 2005
Black Pearl award from the International Association for Food Protection.
Technology for Today”s
Cutting-edge Solutions
While we’re proud to be a part of food
safety history, we’re always looking ahead
to provide the next cutting-edge solution.
Consider our latest innovation—
a system assay that uses advanced, re-verse-transcriptase PCR to jump-start
DNA-based reactions and deliver Listeria
results within eight hours. This assay detects all species of Listeria, allowing environmental contamination issues to be
addressed quickly.
We’ve also introduced a number of
new assays to meet the evolving needs
of the food industry for fast, accurate
testing:
• A real-time PCR assay to detect
Staphylococcus aureus in powdered
infant formula, ground beef and soy
protein. Traditional testing methods for
S. aureus require three to five days or
more for cultural growth and detection.
With this assay, accurate results are
available the next day.
• A real-time PCR assay that can detect
and differentiate among three species
of pathogenic Campylobacter in the
same sample—and provide quantitative values for each.
• A PCR assay that detects yeast and
mold in food at customizable thresholds set by the user. The standard protocol detects concentrations of 50
cfu/g or more within 48 hours, reducing
product hold time by three days compared with traditional culture methods.
Alternative protocols for ultra-sensitive
detection of low concentrations are
also available.
qualicon.com
Helping to Ensure Food Safety Around the World
Food companies around the world have made the BAX® system an integral part of their quality control systems due to its impact on their operations—from decreasing false positives and minimizing re-testing, to
reducing the need for specialized training and speeding the time to market.
Now, the next-generation system Q7, which features real-time PCR capabilities, is quickly becoming an industry favorite because it enables testing
for multiple targets in a single sample, shorter processing times, five-dye
detection and faster results.
This system has been adopted by the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) for meat and
poultry testing; adopted or certified by many international government testing agencies; and certified by independent authorities, such as the French
Association of Normalization (AFNOR).
Recently, the Beijing Municipal Center for Food Safety Monitoring
(BFSM) announced that the system is being used to conduct its food
safety supervision tasks during the 2008 Olympic Games. DuPont Qualicon
is sharing its expertise and providing technical support to ensure orderly
food safety inspections in Beijing and to help build a food safety supervision system that will better serve the public with safer and healthier food.
Advancing Food Safety
We’re relentless in our commitment to
developing technology that can truly advance the science of food safety and
make food safer for consumers around
the world. Our dedicated team of experts
is working diligently to create tomorrow’s
food safety breakthroughs and is constantly seeking ways to improve and expand our offerings.
From sophisticated analytical platforms
to soluble packets of enrichment media,
DuPont Qualicon is a company you can
trust to deliver the technology innovations
you need to reduce risk, react to issues
quickly and ultimately deliver the safest
food possible to consumers. DuPont
Qualicon technology can help you deliver
results that matter.
