Neogen’s new LESS (Listeria Enrichment Single Step) medium trims the incubation time needed to detect Listeria in environmental sample swabs and sponges to 30 hours, from 48 hours or longer for most other test systems. The new single-step medium also eliminates the need to incubate samples in two enrichment media, and the hands-on time needed to transfer samples from medium to medium.

The new LESS medium can be used with either Neogen’s Reveal® for Listeria lateral flow or GeneQuence™ Listeria DNA hybridization test system. Reveal for Listeria provides a very easy method of screening environmental samples for the presence of the pathogen. Just add an enriched sample to the testing device, and a clear result is available in about 15 minutes.

GeneQuence Listeria and GeneQuence Listeria monocytogenes are assays that combine DNA hybridization technology with full automation capability to provide rapid, highly accurate results. GeneQuence’s ability to test a relatively few samples manually, or large numbers automatically, provides easy method standardization for companies with many testing facilities with varying test volumes.

In validation studies, LESS medium demonstrated superior recovery performance when used with swabs and sponges that sampled various environmental surfaces. LESS medium dramatically increased the recovery of stressed Listeria cells spiked onto the surfaces, and all positives detected with LESS were confirmed using the standard BAM culture method.