Handling live pathogens in a proficiency test is a challenge for providers and participants alike. A practical answer is freeze-dried material, used to prepare simulated enrichments in your own laboratory.
How it works
Participants receive freeze-dried vials, rehydrate them and test as they would a real enrichment. Some programs add an associated food matrix, such as infant formula for Cronobacter or a meat matrix for Shiga/Vero-toxin producing E. coli. Others supply vials only, so laboratories from different testing industries can take part.
What can be covered
- Campylobacter: presence/absence and enumeration.
- Salmonella, Listeria and Shigella: presence/absence, with enumeration for Listeria.
- Vibrio parahaemolyticus and other Vibrio: presence/absence.
- STEC/VTEC: presence/absence.
For food safety laboratories, these rounds show whether detection methods perform as expected, and give a documented, comparable record for audits.
Interested in a pathogen scheme? Tell us your target organisms.
PT Inquiry Form