Evaluation of a New Dip-Stick Test for the Rapid Detection of Salmonella in Food

Abstract

A new commercial dip-stick method (PATH-STIK) for the rapid detection of Salmonella was evaluated. The test is based on immunochromatographic technology, known from simple clinical diagnostics like the human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) pregnancy tests. Results can be obtained 10 min after completion of the Salmonella enrichment procedure. In total, 94 samples of various origin were screened in this study, The samples used were suspected to be naturally contaminated with Salmonella, thus reflecting the most realistic situation. The new dip-stick method was compared to the ISO 6579 (1990) reference method for the detection of Salmonella in food and feed. Overall specificity of the dip-stick test in comparison with the ISO method was 96.4%; the overall sensitivity in this study was 93.0%. For products with a low water activity, specificity and sensitivity were 97.7 and 88.2% respectively. Products with a high water activity resulted in a specificity of 92.3% and a sensitivity of 96.2%. Since the enrichment procedure for the dip-stick test is based on the official ISO method, this user-friendly method can be used as a rapid screening tool for the detection of Salmonella in food or feed samples.

Novel Strategies To Enhance Lateral Flow Immunoassay Sensitivity for Detecting Foodborne Pathogens

“…Antibodies bind to the surfaces of these gold particles with enormous strength when correctly coupled, thus providing a high degree of long-term stability. , Hence, ligands exhibit good compatibility with biomolecules and can retain biochemical activities of tagged biomolecules. Colloidal gold-based LFI has been applied to detect foodborne pathogens. − Furthermore, a LFI device has been used to determine the analytical sensitivity of E. coli O157 of approximately 10 5 CFU/mL. , Preechakasedkit et al also used colloidal gold-based LFI strip to detect S. typhimurium , and the limit of detection was 1.14 × 10 5 CFU/mL. Ueda et al applied the colloidal gold LFI strip to detect L. monocytogenes , and the detection limit of this assay was 10 6 CFU/mL.…”

Pathogenicity, Epidemiology and Virulence Factors of Salmonella species: A Review

“…Before the gauge, the sample is pre-enriched and then selectively enriched. PATH-STIK does not include washing and is a quick method requiring only 30 minutes for analysis (Brinkman et al, 1995).…”