Warnex Inc. have announced that its proprietary food safety test for the detection of E. coli O157 was independently validated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), and subsequently became the third Warnex test to be granted "Laboratory Procedure" status by Health Canada.

"The three most commonly tested food pathogens are Salmonella, Listeria and E.coli O157. With validated tests for all three, Warnex is now well positioned to become a one-stop quality control solution for major food producers," said Mark Busgang, President and CEO of Warnex. "This validation also underscores the breadth of the Genevision technology which is a key competitive advantage of the system, allowing users to rapidly test for multiple pathogens simultaneously.

"All Warnex’s proprietary tests are performed on the Company’s state-of-the-art Genevision platform which detects the presence of harmful pathogens using very accurate and rapid genomics-based technology. The Company expects its next two tests, for generic E.coli and Staphylococcus aureus, to be validated by the CFIA by early 2004.

As well, the data for E.coli O157 has been submitted to the AOAC in the United States for their review.

A more detailed description of the E. coli O157 test procedure can be found in Volume 3 of the Health Canada Compendium of Analytical Methods.