Hygiena, a Warburg Pincus portfolio company that specializes in rapid food safety and environmental sanitation testing, today announced it received extensions to its AOAC-Research Institute validation for the BAX System Real-Time PCR Assay Suite for STEC for two additional matrices: 25g flour and 25g ground beef. AOAC-RI validated the assay as equivalent to the reference culture method for detecting shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), but with faster time to results.

“We are delighted and proud to receive certification from AOAC for these two matrices, which demonstrate to producers and regulators that Hygiena’s BAX System is an approved method by a recognized accreditation body,” said Dr. Martin Easter, chief scientific officer of Hygiena. “These methods are important tools to help reduce the occurrence of recent and serious outbreaks in these products.”