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| News |
Melamine
Testing Now Available
The
compound melamine has been implicated as the adulterant
in pet foods, which may have caused numerous pet deaths within
the last few months in the US. Tainted wheat gluten supplements
from Chinese suppliers are the probable source of the melamine contamination,
as this inexpensive compound is used to spike animal feed supplements to simulate
artificially high protein levels upon analysis (melamine is a nitrogen rich
compound, although it has no nutritional value). Because melamine is not particularly
toxic at low concentrations, some pet foods and feeds have exhibited relatively
high melamine levels. The Chemists at Warren Analytical now utilize methodology
from the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine to detect melamine levels as low
as 1 ppm in pet food.
WAL
Awarded USDA APHIS School Lunch
Meat Testing Service Contract
On
June 24, 2005, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA)
Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS) awarded a service contract to
Warren Analytical Laboratories (WAL) to provide microbiological and fat testing
and analysis services to USDA contractors and subcontractors in support of
the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) school lunch meat purchase programs.
One of only two laboratories to receive these contracts, Warren Analytical
Laboratories met or surpassed strict USDA APHIS requirements to offer AOAC
approved tests at a facility certified as meeting ISO 17025 quality standards.
ISO/IEC
17025 Accreditation
Warren
Analytical Laboratory has earned ISO/IEC (International Organization of Standardization
and International Electrotechnical Commission) 17025 accreditation through
A2LA (American Association for Laboratory Accreditation) - the highest such
accreditation for laboratories.
This accreditation serves as a formal recognition of the laboratory's technical
competence.
Fewer than 30 food industry laboratories have currently achieved ISO/IEC 17025
accreditation for food chemistry and food microbiology, according to the American
Association of Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA). Through a number of mutual
recognition arrangements, A2LA accreditation is recognized around the world.
"This puts us among some select company," Aaronson said. "We
work on a global level, and A2LA ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation gives our customers
a measure of comfort that our data can be accepted with the highest degree
of confidence."
Central
Nervous System
Warren
Analytical Laboratory now offers an objective method for the detection of
risk materials derived from CNS (Central Nervous System)
tissue in raw and processed meats, meat products, and on surfaces (machines
or utensils). Since
1996, scientific evidence has shown a link between BSE and nvCJD. The predominant
carrier of infectious material is tissue of the Central Nervous System (i.e.
brain and spinal cord). In the interests of preventive consumer protection,
it is important that the usage of these particular animal tissues, that may
contain accumulated concentrations of infectious material, be excluded from
the human food chain. The presence of CNS tissue can be monitored in the form
of final product control.
DNA
Fingerprinting - Molecular Biology
By using molecular sub-typing
techniques, the likely sources of specific bacterial contamination can be
identified. Bacteria can be "DNA-fingerprinted" using the Riboprinter™
or Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) to distinguish
between isolates at the genetic level.
For
example, the same bacterial species isolated from different sources will be
indistinguishable using standard microbiological techniques, but molecular
sub-typing might show them to be unrelated at the genetic level. Tracing related
isolates through a manufacturing process can help to identify the source(s)
of contamination, so that the most effective corrective actions can be taken.
Molecular
sub-typing can also eliminate a potential contamination source by showing
that isolates from different products or environments are unrelated.
Both
PFGE and Riboprinting offer their own unique strengths depending on what your
situation requires.
The
strengths of each application are as follows:
Riboprinter™
: Excels at Listeria differentiation; also suitable for Lactic Acid Bacteria
and Salmonella sp.
PFGE:
This is the standard method used by the CDC and the current "Gold Standard"
of molecular sub-typing. Excellent for both E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella
differentiation.
Warren
Analytical Laboratory provides these powerful,
state-of-the-art analytical technologies to help you
solve your microbiological problems.