Assessment of an enzyme immunoassay for the detection of salmonellas in foods and animal feeding stuffs.

The Salmonella Bio-EnzaBead Screening Kit, in its modified form with both the MOPC 467 and the 6H4 antibodies, was used for the detection of salmonellas in naturally contaminated foods and animal feeding stuffs in parallel with a traditional cultural procedure. Initial results showed an 82% agreement between the enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and cultural methods when using the criterion recommended by the manufacturer as a cut-off for all types of foods. By adjusting the cut-off for each type of food, the number of EIA positive, culture negative samples was reduced although the number of EIA negative, culture positive samples increased. The EIA may be more sensitive than the cultural methods as in many cases the EIA positive, culture negative results could be real positives which were not detected by the cultural methods. The screening kit provides a simple and convenient method for the detection of salmonella in foods and feeds and a presumptive positive result can be reported within 48 h. The advantages and disadvantages of the method are discussed.