Food borne Pathogen & Allergen Testing

Norovirus is a highly contagious food borne virus that is the most common cause of gastrointestinal virus in humans. It is spread by faecally contaminated food or water. It can be contracted by person to person contact or via spores released during vomiting.

Outbreaks of Norovirus can often occur in closed quartered environments such as Cruise Ships, Prisons, Hospitals, Aged Care Facilities, with the virus spreading either via person to person contact or via contaminated food.

The solution to rapid determination of the presence of the virus is crucial to contain the source of contamination and prevent further outbreaks.

AgriGen has developed the ability to rapidly test for Norovirus in food and environmental samples such as swabs or water; rapidly generating results to meet clients urgent needs to determine the source of contamination.

The advent of global food commodity trading around the world has brought with it many benefits in terms of efficiency and cost effectiveness. One of the down sides of such trading has meant that there has been, in some instances, a lowering of the standards when it comes to food handling protocols being adhered to in the food production process. This has resulted in recent outbreaks of diseases such as Hepatitis A (Hep A) from ingestion of contaminated food.

AgriGen has proven experience in testing for the presence of Hep A in food such as frozen berries. In such outbreaks it is crucial for clients to obtain results rapidly and effectively to detect the source of contamination and to contain the potential product re call process. Our systems combined with our experience in this field, ensures our customers are satisfied with the outcomes of the service we provide.

Hepatitis E is also a highly contagious and debilitating viral disease that is difficult to detect except using molecular methods. Similar principles are applied to Hep E detection in foods or environmental samples.

If you need to discuss these tests in more detail, please contact AgriGen at info@agrigen.com.au or by phoning +61 (0)2 8856 0988