Neogen launches sesame allergen test kit
Veratox for Sesame Allergen test provides results in 30 minutes after extraction.
The Sandwich ELISA test can screen samples or provide results in the range of 2.5 to 25 parts per million (ppm) and has been validated for testing food items (e.g., spices and bakery products) and clean-in-place rinses.
It can be used to screen samples at a set level or provide quantitative results.
Sesame allergy is a rising problem in the US but is not considered one of the top eight allergens so does not need to be labelled, according to the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Connection Team.
Neogen’s allergen testing products have been developed with the University of Nebraska’s Food Allergy Research and Resource Program (FARRP).
Jennifer Baker, of Neogen, said: “Regulators in both Europe and Canada have identified sesame as an allergen of concern. Neogen strives to help food manufacturers ensure that an unlabelled - and potentially dangerous - allergen does not make its way into a food product.”
Neogen’s line of rapid test kits includes ones for 19 different allergens, including peanut, milk, egg, almond, gliadin (gluten), soy, mustard and hazelnut.
The Veratox for Sesame test kit uses the same format of previously released quantitative allergen tests and requires similar laboratory equipment.
Help with recalls
Neogen has also launched a program for customers facing a recall or preparing for such a possibility.
Recall Support Services helps guide a company through a recall and identify the source of contamination for the cost of products and consumables.
It includes sample processing or a recommendation of private labs, shipments of Neogen diagnostic products, genomic identification to traceback the source and on-site tech support personnel for up to 48 hours.
Ed Bradley, Neogen’s VP of food safety, said the program is largely the result of customers seeking to develop rapid response plans of their own.
“They want to know who they can turn to in the event of a recall, and what services we can provide to them to help them recover. We are offering this service at no additional cost as a guarantee that we will be there for our customers when they need us the most.”
Centralise quality system
Meanwhile, Neogen is to upgrade its quality system to standardise quality management across UK operations.
The company will enhance its Q-Pulse system from Ideagen by upgrading to Q-Pulse Enterprise across two recently acquired sites.
Neogen bought Lab M, a dehydrated culture media manufacturer and QuatChem, an agricultural disinfectant manufacturer. Both businesses were managing quality through manual, paper-based systems.
Andrew Holmes, responsible for quality management across Neogen’s European operations, said with Lab M and QuatChem it is looking to centralise and harmonise the quality system.
“We began using Q-Pulse for our accredited testing lab a few years ago but since then – specifically in the last three years – the use of the system has spread across the rest of the business in the UK," he said.
“In our main location in Ayr in Scotland, we are witnessing great adoption of the system with staff raising customer feedback and regularly accessing documentation. We have since extended Q-Pulse to our materials and purchasing department and now use it for supplier complaints and monitoring as well.
“We will take that model and implement into both the Lab M and QuatChem businesses and control quality from one system.”
Neogen has been using Ideagen’s Q-Pulse software since 2009 when it adopted the system via an acquisition for ISO 17025 compliance.
The firm employs more than 1,400 worldwide including 250 in the UK.
