Malcolm is the Food Hygiene Unit Project Leader in the Food Science Branch of the Sustainable Agri-Food Sciences Division (SAFSD), Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), Belfast
As a project leader, I’m involved in several areas of commercial research and testing, as well as government and publicly-funded research, primarily with the red and white meat sector. We provide molecular diagnostic testing as well as molecular research in the area of food microbiology.
Molecular biology has been available as a tool for microbiologists and researchers for more than 20 years, but its adoption by laboratories was limited in the past for various reasons. However, such analysis can now be undertaken at comparable costs to traditional culture.
One of the limiting factors of molecular diagnostics has been cost and the number of samples one can deal with. In the past, robotics equipment was more expensive (£100,000 per robot), but now you can get units for £20,000.
The adoption of automated liquid-handling systems means that we can process several hundred samples a day, whereas in the past one operator could only do 50 samples. This has led to significant cost reductions and more rapid notification of results.
Rapid Campylobacter testing
One example of our work was a response to a research call from the Food Standards Agency (FSA), to evaluate assays that could be used to detect Campylobacter on the farm. Our laboratory was successful in being awarded a £360,000 project for the development of a rapid on-farm test for Campylobacter in broilers.
After looking at a number of different approaches, we came to the conclusion that instead of doing an on-farm test, it was more effective if a sample was collected by the farmer and sent in the post to a central lab where it was processed.
In brief, this method involves a farmer putting on a sampling sock over his wellington boot. He then walks up and down the poultry house. The sock is then put into a sealed bag inside a stamped, addressed, tear-proof envelope and sent for analysis. A report of the results is sent directly to the farmer’s phone by text.
This solution means that samples can be collected and results can be reported within 24 hours, if not sooner. Handling specimens at a central laboratory also ensures consistent quality control, which can be a problem with on-farm tests.
Testing for independent farmers
We’re currently working with the FSA and the National Farmers Union (NFU) across the UK on a Campylobacter testing scheme for independent farmers. Around 20 per cent of the UK broiler industry is independent. One of the things I’d like to do is roll this scheme out to the Republic of Ireland broiler industry.
Under this scheme, free testing is being offered to farmers who register online at act-nfu.org and input information anonymously into a national database. Farmers can benchmark their performance against national baselines and a statistical analysis will identify Campylobacter-reducing trends.
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