Congressional and Public Affairs
(202) 720-9113; FAX: (202) 690-0460
Sarah Tarshis

FSIS Increases Efficiency In Detecting Salmonella

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2003—The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service today announced a new measure that will increase efficiency and allow FSIS to further protect public health. FSIS has adopted the BAX® system to screen for Salmonella in ready-to-eat meat and poultry and pasteurized egg products.

 After an evaluation, FSIS determined that the BAX® system was as sensitive as the current method of detecting Salmonella but also reduced the reporting time for negative samples by at least three days.

“This new screen test will save valuable agency time and resources that can then be applied in other ways to protect public health," said Dr. Elsa A. Murano, under secretary for food safety. "This will be another  tool that we will use to wage war on pathogens."

The BAX® system was evaluated at the FSIS Microbial Outbreaks and Special Projects Laboratory (MOSPL) in Athens, Ga., to determine whether it would be beneficial to the agency. Testing methods used by FSIS laboratories undergo rigorous evaluations to determine their validity and reliability.

After the successful MOSPL evaluation, the agency’s three field service laboratories, located in Athens, Ga., St. Louis, Mo. and Alameda, Calif., analyzed approximately 828 random samples for Salmonella using both the current method and the BAX® system. A portion of the enrichment broth was used to conduct the BAX® test.  The official confirmation analysis method was used to confirm that the BAX® system reduced reporting time.

FSIS implemented the BAX® system to screen ready-to-eat meat and poultry samples for Salmonella on Feb. 17, in the agency’s three field service laboratories and the MOSPL laboratory.  FSIS began using the BAX® screening system for Listeria monocytogenes in April 2002.

FSIS is currently evaluating the BAX® system to screen raw products for Salmonella and is planning to evaluate the BAX® system to screen samples for E. coli O157:H7 in the next few months.

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NOTE: Access news releases and other information at the FSIS web site at http://www.fsis.usda.gov.

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FSIS Congressional and Public Affairs Staff
Phone: (202) 720-9113
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