Gaithersburg, MD - IGEN International, Inc. announced it has begun field evaluations of its unique ORIGEN test for E.coli bacteria in meat and other foods with the USDA and a major food producer. This test, developed in conjunction with Dr. Jerry Crawford of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service, will be used in testing food and beverage products such as meat used in hamburger, for the bacteria which have caused numerous outbreaks of gastrointestinal and renal disease across the USA and overseas. The outbreaks were a major impetus behind recent legislation passed mandating stricter testing requirements for food processing.
IGEN said that if the field evaluations are successful, major food and beverage producers could become primary users of the E.coli test to ensure continued safety of food and beverage products. The major advantages of the ORIGEN test are its ability to perform in complex sample types like hamburger meat, in less time, with a 10-100 fold increase in sensitivity over available methods. The IGEN test will offer food producers the ability to efficiently test many more food samples than available methods.
In addition to E.coli, IGEN will begin field evaluations soon of other ORIGEN-based food and beverage safety tests, such as a test for cryptosporidium parasite developed in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). IGEN President Dr. Richard Massey said, “Consumer demand for greater confirmation of food and beverage quality will lead to these types of tests being available in sites where food is stored, prepared and served. We believe the business opportunity in food and beverage testing will be an important addition to the businesses IGEN has already established in the human diagnostic and pharmaceutical drug discovery markets.”
Providing a complete systems approach, IGEN is developing these proprietary tests for use with instruments based on its patented ORIGEN technology. IGEN believes ORIGEN will deliver highly accurate, quantitative results in a format simple and portable enough for use at the site of food preparation. “We believe that businesses and institutions will want to take all possible steps to ensure that the food and beverages they serve are contamination free,” Dr. Massey said.
IGEN develops, manufactures, and markets diagnostic systems utilizing its patented ORIGEN technology, which is based on electrochemiluminescence. ORIGEN provides uniform assay formats to conduct a multitude of diagnostic tests including immunoassay, nucleic acid probe, and clinical chemistry tests. Products using the ORIGEN technology include systems marketed by IGEN and its licensees, Roche-Boehringer Mannheim, Organon Teknika and Eisai.
Meat Industry Insights News Service
P.O. Box 553
Northport, NY 11768
Phone: 631-757-4010
Fax: 631-757-4060
E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com
Return to Home Page