AOAC Approves bioMérieux VITEK® 2 Identification Cards for Biological Threat Organisms, E. coli O157, Listeria and Staph

Automated VITEK 2 rapidly identifies foodborne organisms to ensure food quality and safety

bioMérieux, a leading in vitro diagnostics company, has received Performance-Tested Methods^SM (PTM) approval from the AOAC Research Institute for two critical dentification cards for the food industry. The VITEK® 2 Gram-Positive (GP) card is certified for the identification of Listeria and Staphylococcus species and the VITEK 2 Gram -Negative (GN) card is certified to identify Gram-negative organisms such as Salmonella and E. coli O157.

“Our validation programs use rigorous testing methods to measure a product’s performance in several key performance parameters including accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity, and ruggedness,” said Scott G. Coates, Managing Director, AOAC Research Institute. “In addition, the test cards were validated by an AOAC RI recommended independent laboratory.”

Recent reports from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveal that 76 million Americans get sick, more than 300,000 are hospitalized, and 5,000 people die from foodborne illnesses each year. The most commonly recognized foodborne infections are caused by bacteria such as Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli O157:H7.

“Rapid and accurate identification of foodborne pathogens and biological threat organisms is crucial for ensuring food safety and protecting consumer health,” stated Alexandre Mérieux, bioMérieux Corporate Vice President, Industrial Microbiology. “bioMérieux is honored to be recognized by such a highlyrespected program. In light of recent food contamination concerns, we are particularly pleased to be able to support our customers with the most effective identification methods to ensure food quality and public health.”

The VITEK 2 GP and GN cards were developed to address growing demand for quality control measures within the food industry and provide identification of organisms in just hours, while traditional methods take days to deliver results. The GN card offers automated identification of the most significant fermenting and non-fermenting Gram -negative bacilli, including several Salmonella species and E. coli O157, in addition to the select agent organisms Brucella melitensis, Francisella tularensis, Burkholderia mallei, Burkholderia pseudomallei and Yersinia pestis. The VITEK 2 GP card provides rapid identification of common Gram -positive organisms, including Listeria and Staphylococcus species.

About bioMérieux

Advancing Diagnostics to Improve Public Health
A world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics for 45 years, bioMérieux is present in more than 150 countries through 38 subsidiaries and a large network of distributors. In 2007, revenues reached €1.063 billion with 84% of sales outside of France.

bioMérieux provides diagnostic solutions (reagents, instruments, software), which determine the source of disease and contamination to improve patient health and ensure consumer safety. Our products are used for diagnosing infectious diseases and providing high medical value results for cardiovascular emergencies and cancer screening and monitoring. They are also used for detecting microorganisms in agri-food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. bioMérieux is listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris market (Code: BIM – Code ISIN: FR0010096479). Other information can be found at
http://www.biomerieux.com/ or http://www.biomerieux-industry.com/