Performance Evaluation of GENE-UP®
Introduction:
In the United States, the production and consumption of green leafy produce has been steadily rising.
The most recent attribution estimates from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2013) indicated leafy produce to be responsible for the highest amount of foodborne illnesses and among the top five causes of foodborne hospitalizations and deaths. Between 1973 and 2012, Salmonella and Shiga toxinproducing Escherichia coli (STEC) species were the top bacterial pathogens responsible for outbreaks caused by leafy vegetables. Most commercial foodborne pathogen detection systems tend to use separate, and often complex, workflows to provide Salmonella and STEC detection. Given the perishable nature of leafy produce and the recent testing trends moving towards 375g sample size, it is critical for a test to be rapid while maintaining high specificity and sensitivity.
