Validation of a Loop-Mediated Amplification/ISO 6579-Based Method for Analysing Soya Meal for the Presence of Salmonella enterica

An alternative method for detection of Salmonella spp. in animal feed, based on the use of loop-mediated amplification (LAMP) in conjunction with a standard culturing procedure, was compared with the standard ISO 6579 as reference method, using soya meal as the test matrix. In the method comparison study, the sensitivities for both the alternative and reference methods were 100 %. The relative level of detection was 1.000. Tested against 100 Salmonella and 30 non- Salmonella strains, the LAMP-based method was 99 % inclusive and 100 % exclusive. The interlaboratory trial involved ten laboratories from eight European countries, testing eight samples at three contamination levels: 0 cfu/100 g, 1–5 cfu/100 g and 14–68 cfu/100 g. The trial specificity, or percentage correct identification of uncontaminated samples, was 96.3 % for both the reference methods and the LAMP/ISO 6579 alternative method, thus demonstrating its suitability for adoption as a procedure for rapid identification of Salmonella uncontaminated soya meal.