Romer Labs' Aflatoxin Test Kit Gains USDA-GIPSA Approval
Romer Labs, a global food-safety diagnostic company, yesterday announced that its new AgraStrip® Total Aflatoxin Quantitative WATEX test kit has successfully undergone verification of performance as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA). The test kit met all GIPSA performance criteria and passed all evaluation tests.
In addition to being USDA-GIPSA approved, the WATEX test kit is solvent free, provides the fastest time-to-result on the market, and does not require a filtration or centrifugation step, according to the manufacturer. In practice, that means the test kit utilizes a water-based extraction method that will allow food, feed and grain producers, as well as USDA-GIPSA approved inspection agencies, to test for aflatoxins without using organic solvents, such as methanol, that are expensive, flammable, and must be disposed of as hazardous waste.
A Romer Labs release stated that the kit's dissolvable, pre-weighed extraction buffer bags simplify and speed up workflow, resulting in a time-to-result of 8 minutes including extraction, sample preparation and strip development. The kit's extraction equipment obviates the use of additional extract clarification. The company noted that the AgraStrip® Total Aflatoxin Quantitative WATEX test kit has a quantitation range of 0-100 ppb and a detection limit of 3 ppb. In the near future, the AgraStrip® WATEX test kit line will be expanded to cover regulated mycotoxins.
“The GIPSA certification proves that our new AgraStrip WATEX test kit line meets stringent performance criteria," said Michael Prinster, CEO of Romer Labs America. With this new test kit, "testing can be easily performed on-site or on-field within minutes without any additional equipment or the storage of hazardous materials,” he added.
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