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Currently, it takes about 24 hours for Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale to get test results before it can ship meat products.

BioDetection’s method could cut that down to an hour.

Xiaoli Su, senior scientist at BioDetection, said the new technology can eliminate the need for an incubation period for bacteria that could contaminate the meat.

The technology uses a “capillary column-based immunosensor” to detect pathogens. Su said the small, wirelike tube is lined with antibodies that identify the bacteria.

Su said the BioDetection technology is more sensitive and produces faster results than the conventional ELISA (enyzyme-linked immunosorbant assay) method. Su said the ELISA method can only detect down to levels of 10,000 cells per milliliter.

“Compared to our technology, the currently available rapid test kits used in the food processing industry typically require at least an eight-hour [incubation period] to grow bacteria to the detectable range,” Su said.

The BioDetection technology will detect concentrations of bacteria at levels lower than 10 cells per milliliter or gram in less than one hour.

Food products can then be tested on-site by inserting a cartridge into a machine.

BioDetection was founded in 2002. Since then, it has received more than $1.5 million in Small Business Innovation Research awards from both the National Institutes of Health and The National Science Foundation.

Application

Rick Roop, senior vice president of Science and Regulatory Affairs for Tyson Foods, said current testing methods require an average pre-incubation period of about 24 hours.

To reduce the risk of contamination, Tyson doesn’t allow pathogen testing at the processing plant. It sends samples of meat to off-site company laboratories where shipping and incubation time significantly add to the time it takes to get results, he said. On average, Tyson tests its food every few hours for safety.

Roop said a lot of progress has been made in the area of pathogen detection. About 20 years ago, it took a week to 10 days to process a sample. Today, it can take up to 48 hours to process.

Depending on the organism being tested and the testing method, one sample can cost from $5 to $25 to test. Roop said Tyson would not directly comment about BioDectection’s specific technology.

Tyson Foods will report more than 3.5 million test results in 2005, said Gary Mickelson, the company’s spokesman. Tyson employs more than 3,000 in the area of food safety, quality assurance and laboratory testing.

Pathogen detection not only costs the company in infrastructure, but it also compounds inventory cost.

Mickelson said at any given time Tyson has “several million pounds” waiting for test results.

Tyson doesn’t ship its fully cooked products until they have been tested, Roop said. That requires a higher inventory level and a greater degree of control, he said.

Tyson also tests raw or fresh protein, Mickelson said.

“We’re always interested in technologies that can reduce testing time while maintaining or improving detection capability,” Roop said.

Every time a new product is developed, the production process is evaluated to determine where and how food safety could be compromised, Roop said. Procedures are then put in place to eliminate hazards.

The evaluation process and subsequent control procedure is called HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point).

“Rapid pathogen tests are very important for verification that the HACCP plan has been effective,” Roop said.

Greg Magness, business development manager for BioDetection Instruments, said the on-site testing capabilities that BioDetection can provide will save companies time and money.

Also, one machine can be used to test for multiple pathogens, where most rapid tests have to be used for one pathogen at a time. Biodetection can test for such pathegens as Salmonella, Listeria, Campylobacter and E. coli.

Magness said BioDetection will test its product in several facilities in 2006.

“It really reduces the time it takes to get your results and the shipping costs, which can really double the cost of the test itself,” Magness said. “The problem has been that it has not been very economical to conduct rigorous food safety tests.”

BioDetection Instruments allows the food processor to minimize the risk of a contaminated product hitting the market with the ease of on-site testing and rapid results.

Magness wouldn’t disclose the cost per cartridge or the cost of the technology.

The product could hit the market in late 2006 or early 2007.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that, every year, food-borne pathogens cause 76 million Americans to get sick, more than 300,000 to be hospitalized and 5,000 to die.

The CDC estimates two to three percent of all food born illnesses lead to secondary long tern illnesses.