New rapid test for E. coli
Dr. Michael Rieder, Paediatrics, and his team have created a new rapid test system to detect E. coli. The test allows manufacturers to identify contaminated food quickly before it leaves the processing plant and enters the grocery store.
This new rapid test system allows food to be sampled at the end of one day, and the results would be available before the food is shipped the following day. This is a vast improvement upon the current system which can take from three to 21 days for testing results and can lead to food already being distributed prior to results being received.
The rapid test relies on targeting proteins that are only present in the organisms that cause people to become ill. By collaborating with the Torontobased company International Point of Care, Dr. Rieder’s team was able to use flow-through technology to mark the protein with colloidal gold so that it is visible to the naked eye. The process is similar to that used in pregnancy tests—one line for negative, two lines for positive.
