Microbiologics, Inc.--a global provider of biological controls--has launched UV-BioTAG™, a line of bacterial reference strains containing green fluorescent protein (GFP) markers. Designed for quality control testing in food safety laboratories, UV-BioTAG cultures visibly fluoresce under ultraviolet (UV) light making them easily distinguishable from natural contaminants isolated from food samples.

Food samples may inadvertently become contaminated with control strains used in the laboratory leading to false-positive results which can have severe financial and regulatory implications. Brad Goskowicz, Microbiologics chief executive officer, says, “UV-BioTAG allows laboratories to quickly and reliably establish whether a positive test result can be traced back to a control strain cross-contamination issue, or if it is from another source. Our UV-BioTAG strains are sourced from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and are rigorously tested using proteomic, phenotypic and functional methods to ensure their authenticity, stability and compatibility with common detection technologies.”