Randox Food Diagnostics harnessing science of antibiotic screening to ensure safer honey
Global leader in food screening technology, Randox Food Diagnostics have developed a range of pioneering honey quality tests which are being adopted by apiculturists across the world to ensure the safety and quality of their produce.
The array of tests, developed by the Antrim-based firm, are being showcased this week at the world’s largest apiculture meeting, the Apimondia International Conference, being held in Istanbul, Turkey from September 29th to October 4th.
The company hopes to highlight to consumers and producers about the importance of food safety, and in particular the dangers of antibacterial residue in food. Scientists have warned that antibiotics used in food production, are passing through the food chain to consumers and therefore contributing to the rise in infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Randox Founder and Managing Director, Dr Peter FitzGerald, commented;
“As a company committed to supporting the fight against antibiotic resistance we must continue to drive awareness amongst producers and consumers alike.
“We are working closely with industry to promote a responsible approach to antibiotic use in food production and we hope that by working with some of the biggest names in the apiculture market, other honey producers will see the benefits of being able to offer their customers complete consumer confidence in a high quality, and importantly, safe product.”
At Apimondia 2017 Randox Food Diagnostics will showcase a range of major technological advancements including the firm’s Antimicrobial Array 1 Ultra, Antimicrobial Array II Plus and Antimicrobial Array V. Thanks to Randox’s patented Biochip Array Technology, these testing panels can simultaneously screen for multiple antibiotics that are sprayed on beehives to ensure the safety of the colony, from only one sample of the produce.
Randox Food’s Antimicrobial Arrays join the company’s already extensive menu of honey screening tests, including its test for Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a test for an organic compound produced by dehydration of sugars, which can be indicative of overheating, poor storage conditions or aged honey. The test was recently validated by leading South American honey producer Geomiel, which credited Randox Food for delivering an immediate improvement in the quality of its honey products.
David Ferguson, Global Business Manager for Randox Food Diagnostics, commented;
“We welcome the fact that so many of the world’s leading producers, including Geomiel, have embraced our vision of continuously improving testing standards.
“We have invested a lot in simplifying the process of conducting multiple tests, and consolidating this onto one unique biochip is a cost-effective way for the honey industry to maintain and improve standards. Apimondia 2017 attendees will be offered a complete testing bundle – including our popular analysers, the Randox Evidence Investigator and RX misano, to enable them to test for antibiotics and assess quality in one easy-to-manage system.
“Another unique feature of what we offer here at Randox Food Diagnostics is our ever-expanding test menu. The RX misano for example has a customisable test menu which allows clients to upload new parameters using USB, ensuring access to the most up-to-date tests on the market.
“We will be inviting Apimondia guests to learn more about the upcoming launch of our new pesticide tests, which will provide multiple results for the world’s most prevalent pesticides, such as Amitraz, Acetamiprid, Carbofuran, Carbaryl, and Paraquar. We remain committed to supporting food producers by providing them with the newest and highest quality tests.”
For further information about Randox Food Diagnostics honey testing, please visit: http://www.randoxfood.com/Matrices/Honey
For any further questions please contact Randox PR by phoning 028 9445 1016 or emailing RandoxPR@randox.com
Over 100 Dairy Cows put down following Ergotism Outbreak in New Zealand
This week over 100 cows on a farm in New Zealand had to be put down after digesting fungus from an infected feed supply. The herd in the Southland and Otago regions was suffering from ergot toxicity. Randox Food Diagnostics have developed the only test for this fungus on the market, which can protect your animals from injury or death.
Ergot Alkaloids are a naturally occurring fungus most commonly found in grains and grasses. Produced by a group of fungi called the Claviceps species, they infect seed heads of plants during the flowering period. The fungus replaces the developing grain with toxic ergot. The dry summer and wet autumn this year provided the optimum growing conditions for the fungus.
Typically, it causes lameness and swelling of the fetlocks and hock joints but in the most severe cases animals can lose tips of their tails, or ears or even their hooves. As in this case, it can result in animals being put down.
While all animals are at risk of contracting ergot, it is most commonly found in cattle.
According to the report, VetSouth Winton veterinarian Hayden Dore confirmed four cases have been reported in Southland and South Otago with a large number of infected cows.
“Over time it effectively causes one or more of the limbs to become gangrenous. Signs of ergot toxicity generally start with a disinterest in feed, before moving to lameness in the limbs, which presented similarly to foot rot, but without the separation of the toes. Once the limbs go cold from lack of blood supply, it would take about a week before the limbs began to fall off,” he said.
“One herd with 900 milking cows had around 130 cows infected by the poisonous fungus, with subsequently 61 of them being put down.”
Testing for Ergot Alkaloids
Randox Food Diagnostics offer the only array on the market to test for Ergot Alkaloids. Validated for flour and seed, the ELISA test offers excellent limits of detection for the toxin Ergotamine at 1ppb.
Click here for more information on the Ergot Alkaloid ELISA kit or email info@randoxfooddiagnostics.com and your area’s Business Development Executive will contact you.
Randox Food Diagnostics test committed to fighting antibiotic resistance is awarded AOAC Performance Tested Certification
After several years of dedicated R&D, Randox Food Diagnostics are pleased to announce that the industry’s leading body, the AOAC, has granted its Performance TestedSM certification to the company’s Antimicrobial Array I Ultra Kit (License Number 051705).
AOAC standards are used globally to facilitate public health and safety and promote trade, and the rigorous three year certification process was completed in conjunction with the US Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine validation protocol. In addition to internal validation studies and reporting to the AOAC Research Institute, an external independent expert laboratory was required to evaluate the methodology.
Achieving the AOAC Performance TestedSM certification sends a strong statement to the industry about RFD’s commitment to support food producers by providing the highest quality diagnostic tests.
The widespread use of antibacterial agents in veterinary practice, as bacteriostatic agents as well as to promote growth, has increased the concern about the levels of contamination of food products that can be consumed by the public. To protect both the consumer and the industry, regulatory authorities have specified maximum residue limits.
The Antimicrobial Array I Ultra Kit tests for 13 antibacterial agents: for consumer protection, the presence of these compounds in the food supply is highly regulated or banned. This Biochip based kit uses a multi-analytical approach, and therefore maximises detection capability which will improve food safety.
Head of Randox Food Diagnostics, David Ferguson, said:
“This is a major achievement for our team and we are delighted to receive this certification from AOAC. One of our central goals is to be a catalyst for improving food safety, which is why we invested so much into tackling the widely-reported dangers of antibacterial residue in food.
“There’s a growing awareness among consumers and producers about the critical issue of food safety. The Antimicrobial Array I Ultra Kit will meet the increasing demand for highly accurate diagnostic tests.”
The test kit is exclusively available on Randox’s proprietary Biochip Array Technology.
For more information please contact enquiries@randoxfood.com
About AOAC-RI
The AOAC Research Institute (AOAC-RI) was incorporated in 1991 as a wholly owned subsidiary of AOAC INTERNATIONAL. The AOAC-RI serves as an independent, third-party, nongovernment administrator of AOAC conformity assessment programs including the AOAC Performance Tested MethodsSM (PTM) and Official Methods of AnalysisSM (OMA) programs for alternative and sole source methods.
For more information, visit www.aoac.org.
Randox Equine Health Programmes: Keeping racehorses healthy from the paddock to the podium
As sponsors of the Randox Health Grand National, the welfare of horses is of paramount importance to us and is a cause very close to our own hearts.
Did you know that one of the reasons we entered into partnership with the Jockey Club is because we are experts in the field of Equine Health?
Well now you do!
Not only do we have a history of being involved in equestrian events, (we host the Randox Point-to-Point event for our local community every year, and International Polo Tournaments in both Scotland and Bushmills, on the Causeway Coast of Northern Ireland), but we also have over 34 years’ experience in the diagnostics industry, during which we have developed innovative and accurate diagnostic products for Equine Health.
That may sound complicated but vets, trainers and owners have been working with us for years so that we can help them better understand their horses’ health and wellbeing.
To recognise the importance of what we do, you must know that more than 70% of all medical decisions are based on an analysis of your blood.
Using our innovative blood-science technology we can obtain a comprehensive profile of not only your body’s current health, but also your future health. This is the same for horses!
In the development of our own dedicated Equine Health Programme, we’ve learnt a thing or two. We know that endurance racehorses require extra attention as a result of intense physical exercise, and therefore monitoring what’s going on in their blood is vitally important.
To give an example, monitoring the Total Antioxidant Status of your horse is a sure-fire way to detect whether he or she has suffered muscle cell injury or trauma.
A reduction in the overall antioxidant status of your horse inhibits its body’s defence and monitoring the TAS is therefore an efficient way to identify risk of injury, determine the levels of training required and establish appropriate recovery times to maintain their wellbeing.
If your horse is often transported between locations it’s also important to monitor his or her TAS. The Total Antioxidant Status of a horse may increase after long-haul road transportation, indicating that your horse is stressed.
So, as you can see, you can tell a lot about the health of your horse by looking at what’s going on in their blood. We’re the experts in this area so we can share our knowledge with you, explain the importance of particular biomarkers in observing the health of your horse, and advise you what areas of your horse’s health you should be monitoring if you have particular concerns.
Let’s say for example your horse is undergoing intense training.
We would recommend that you monitor their levels of Superoxide Dismutase. This enzyme can let you know whether they are suffering from any muscle pain, stiffness, joint weakness, loss of muscle strength, stamina and flexibility, amongst other issues. It is important to know whether their current training is regime is benefitting them, or encumbering them.
If injury is suspected, we then advise that you monitor your horse’s levels of Creatine Kinase.
Any damage to your horse’s heart, skeletal muscle or brain tissue will result in a spike of Creatine Kinase in the blood. By monitoring CK, you can determine any muscle trauma, bruising, wasting, abscesses, inflammation, infection and recurring muscle damage.
Laminitis, a painful inflammatory condition of the tissue, is often one of the most concerning conditions for any horse, as historically there has been minimal opportunity to detect the risk or early stages of the disease. Randox Adiponectin, a protein hormone, is now being used in conjunction with other current biomarkers to successfully detect the risk of this disease and allow earlier management of the condition in the aim to remove the risk completely or reduce its life-altering impact.
The importance in monitoring these biomarkers is of course that it enables early treatment, which greatly improves your horse’s prognosis and chances of recovery.
Swift treatment upon diagnosis of trauma ensures that your horse is kept healthy and happy, and our customers agree! We work with a number of key Veterinary Hospitals around the world, including Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, the Official Equine Hospital of the Breeders’ Cup in Lexington, Kentucky, (known as ‘The Horse Capital of the World!), and The Irish Equine Centre in Kildare, Ireland.
Jean Hearn, Biochemistry Lab Manager at The Irish Equine Centre, commented;
“As a long time customer of Randox Laboratories, over thirty years, I feel I am in a good position to offer an opinion on the company. Initially we dealt with Randox for Chemistry Reagents and ELISA kits, as they offered a very good range for us working in the veterinary field. However when they launched their Randox Daytona, we found it to be an essential additional analyser in our laboratory, due to the fact that it was capable of running tests that prior to that we were running with very labour intensive methods. eg various minerals and it also broadened the range of tests we could offer to our customers ,eg. acute phase proteins.
“Support has always been good from Randox and the staff always very pleasant and helpful.”
Of course what your horse eats plays a huge role in their health too.
High quality horse feed is paramount for race horses in particular whose speed, agility and most importantly, health, is dependent on them receiving all the nutrients they require.
Our Randox Food Diagnostics ensures the safety of horse feed by screening the food for harmful mycotoxins which can grow on a variety of different crops including cereals, grains and fruits, and can cause a number of health issues for horses, including problems with fertility, sports performance and malnutrition.
And our work in the racing industry doesn’t stop there.
Our Randox Toxicology division creates custom testing panels for the screening of drugs of abuse, on our patented Randox Biochip Array Technology, which has revolutionised the diagnostics industry by allowing multiple tests to be run simultaneously on a single, undivided patient sample.
Screening for drug abuse amongst jockeys in this way (we currently work with Jockey Clubs around the world including Sha Tin racecourse in Hong Kong) protects the safety of the horses and ensures races are won on the jockeys’ and the animals’ natural abilities.
Hopefully you now have a flavour for the work that we do in the racing and veterinary industries to ensure the health and wellbeing of horses. We hope that through our sponsorship of the Randox Health Grand National we can share our knowledge and expertise in the field of Equine Health, Horse Feed Screening and Jockey Toxicology with the racing fraternity.
Just as we promote a message of preventive health to racing fans, the same applies to the horses we love.
For further information on how we work to keep horses healthy, please contact our Randox PR Team.
E: nicola.mchugh@randox.com or amy.mcilwaine@randox.com
T: 028 9445 1016
