Matrix MicroScience is delighted to announce that one of its clients, the California Dept of Public Health (CDPH) has won the prestigious International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) Food Safety Innovation Award.

The presentation was made to the Microbiology Laboratory Staff of the CDPH Food & Drug Laboratory Branch, Richmond, CA at the IAFP 2007 Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL.

In the IAFP citation, it was noted that the award is presented to an individual or organization for creating a new idea, practice or product that has improved public health and quality of life by making a positive impact on food safety. The Microbiology Lab Staff of CDPH was recognized for its innovation in optimizing the novel Pathatrix recirculating immunomagnetic separation (RIMS) technique for identifying E. coli outbreak strains from food and environmental samples.

The RIMS methodology development was originally a cooperative project between the CDPH Food & Drug Lab Branch, led by Sunee Himathongkham, and the US Food & Drug Administration's San Francisco District Laboratory team, led by David Lau.

The optimized method was used during the 2006 E. coli O157:H7 traceback investigation of the outbreaks implicating spinach, milk and lettuce. Using this method, the molecular pattern of the strains isolated from the environment matched the patient outbreak strains for the first time.

As a result of the studies carried out, the Pathatrix RIMS system has become a CDPH approved method for the isolation of E. coli O157:H7; and a paper which has been submitted to the Journal of Food Protection is in press.

Dr Jeff Farrar, Food & Drug Branch (FDB) Chief, said, "We appreciate the recognition for the Food and Drug Laboratory Branch and FDA-San Francisco District lab staff who have worked very hard to develop this new method. The method was utilized during several recent outbreaks with outstanding success. We have already had numerous requests for the methodology."

The Pathatrix RIMS technology is supplied exclusively by Matrix MicroScience and CEO Dr. Adrian Parton, said "It's great to see a novel technology being used to solve real problems in the real world. CDPH and the FDA were among the first to recognize the potential for the application of the Pathatrix / RIMS methodology. And their foresight is now being acknowledged."