Hygiena Launches New Selective Media for Listeria, Salmonella

Hygiena, a Warburg Pincus portfolio company that specializes in rapid food safety and environmental sanitation testing, has begun selling Actero Elite Enrichment Media, validated for use with the BAX System real-time PCR assays for Listeria and Salmonella.

The two Actero Elite Enrichment Media formulations, produced by FoodChek Systems, Inc., are known in the industry for superior quality, single-step enrichment allowing for reduced sample handling, reduced enrichment media volumes, and faster time to results.

 “We are delighted to be able to provide Actero Elite Enrichment Media to our BAX System customers, which enables them to improve their ability to detect pathogens in food or environmental samples,” said Hygiena Global Product Manager Shannon Bullard. “This partnership provides customers with industry leading technology providing accurate and efficient pathogen detection that is easy to use resulting in faster product release.”    

“We are very pleased with the opportunity of working with Hygiena and its outstanding food safety testing expertise,” said FoodChek President & CEO William Hogan. “Hygiena’s competencies, reputation of food safety excellence and global reach make them an ideal partner for FoodChek in bringing our Actero Elite Enrichment Media to the food safety testing market.”

The Actero Elite Enrichment Media is formulated to suppress the growth of non-target organisms while promoting the growth of target organisms. Together, Actero Elite Enrichment Media and the BAX System can provide environmental detection results in 22 hours for Listeria and 16 hours for Salmonella. The products are available in powder and liquid MediaBox formats. Other benefits of each media formulation are:

• For Listeria species assays, time to results can occur between 18-26 hours depending on sample source, and they feature a single-step enrichment.
• For Salmonella species assays, time to results can occur between 14-26 hours depending on sample source, and they feature a single-step enrichment.

Hygiena’s BAX System PCR Assays have been certified as a Performance Tested Method by the AOAC Research Institute (AOAC-RI), and are also approved by Health Canada, the country’s national health agency, for use in food and environmental surface samples.