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The Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture has selected the DuPont Qualicon RiboPrinter system, for its use in food safety by creating a database of microorganisms that are identified by geographic region.
This information will help the agency understand which pathogens in which foods are affecting the Brazilian population. The system will also be used in the ministry's pathogen reduction plan for the meat and poultry industries. The plan requires that all positive results for Salmonella and Listeria be identified and characterized by genus and species. In this context, the DuPont system will be used for the identification, characterization and development of an electronic database containing patterns of all ribotyped strains of bacteria identified in the food samples. According to Josinete Barros de Freitas, chief of the Audits and Accreditation division and responsible for the Agriculture Ministry's microbiology department, "In addition to the RiboPrinter system adoption, the Ministry has also approved the DuPont BAX system as the Official Reference Method for detecting Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes in foods and environmental samples, reflecting the ministry's strong commitment toward food safety in the Brazilian market." "We are pleased that the Brazilian government has once again chosen a DuPont Qualicon product to help maintain its high standards for the safety of food products in Brazil," said Kevin Huttman, president of DuPont Qualicon. According to DuPont, the patented RiboPrinter system is the world's only automated DNA fingerprinting instrument that rapidly pinpoints sources of bacteria. The system produces and compares a genetic "snapshot" - a RiboPrint pattern - against a database of more than 6,000 patterns to identify a potential pathogen in only eight hours. Because the RiboPrinter system can include historical information and also characterize bacteria below the species level, food producers and processors can track groups of offending microbes and recognize trends in the environment. "The RiboPrinter and the BAX systems have become an important network for bacterial research in Brazil," said Eduardo Carlos de Gosztonyi Abecia, director of Madasa do Brasil, Ltda., DuPont Qualicon's Brazilian distributor. "This is an important accomplishment for a country that has set itself up as the major meat and poultry exporter and has been investing in the modernization of its official laboratories." MAPA has also recently issued the AUP (Product Use Authorization) authorizing the use of the DuPont Lateral Flow System in the Brazilian territory. These immunoassay-based test strips can be used to detect Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli O157. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of products and services for markets including agriculture, nutrition, electronics, communications, safety and protection, home and construction, transportation and apparel. DuPont - www.dupont.com
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