DNA-based pathogen database can provide food safety assistance – DuPont
The RiboPrinter database system, developed by DuPont Qualicon, has been updated with over 1,500 new bacterial 'fingerprints', bringing the total up to over 8,500.
The RiboPrinter is a system for the characterisation and identification of unknown bacterial organisms at or below the species level.
The database contains individual genetic patterns needed to identify contaminating bacteria at or below the strain level in production environments including the food sector where they pose a constant threat.
Foodborne outbreaks
A spate of recent food contamination outbreaks in Europe and the US has underlined the importance of good safety practice through the food production and packaging sector.
The worst US listeria outbreak in the last decade, which has killed 25 people and infected 123 to date, has been attributed to a packaging plant at Jensen Farms in Colorado.
Database systems such as the RiboPrinter provide technicians with an exact genetic snapshot of the bacterial organism, which they can then track and attempt to manage with more speed and precision.
Historical data can then determine where the strain came from, spot trends and track contamination events, and make prevention suggestions rather than the shut-down of production.
Tracking contamination
Food quality and safety labs across the world use the RiboPrinter system to track and trend bacterial contamination.
The system processes bacterial samples and extracts data derived from the gene, which is then used to generate patterns – genetic fingerprints of individual bacterial samples.
These patterns are then compared against others in the database to decipher the genus and species of the organism.
DuPont Qualicon product manager Meg Rutherford added: “In addition to this expanding database, we’ve also optimised many of the reagents and other disposables used with the system for greater efficiency and superior quality.”
