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Accurate, reliable results, rapid turn around time and responsive service - Silliker can meet your microbiological, chemical, biotechnology, and physical testing needs. Our data and expert support will help you receive and produce goods that meet your detailed safety and quality specifications. Silliker, the leading food safety company consist of an international network of accredited food testing and consulting laboratories, specializes in helping manufacturers, restaurants and retailers in the food, feed and related consumer product industries. The only network of ISO 17025 accredited labs in the U.S. and Canada, Silliker now has operations throughout Belgium, France, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Silliker offers comprehensive microbiological and chemical analysis, consulting and auditing, employee training services and customized research related to the quality and safety of their customer’s products. |
FSIS adopts BAX for Salmonella FSIS Issues Directive on RTE Product Testing SILLIKER U.S. Laboratories Gain ISO 17025 Accreditation Silliker Expands European Network |
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FSIS Adopts BAX for Salmonella The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has determined the BAXâ system for Salmonella is as sensitive as the current USDA method for detecting Salmonella in raw meat and poultry products. On October 7, FSIS announced it has adopted the BAXâ system to screen for Salmonella in raw meat and poultry products. The agency evaluated the sensitivity of the BAXâ system at three field service laboratories. The field service laboratories analyzed approximately 314 random meat and poultry samples for Salmonella using the current USDA method and the BAXâ system. The study findings revealed the BAXâ system reduced the reporting time for negative samples by one to two days. The official confirmation analysis method was used to confirm the reduced reporting time. In March 2003, FSIS adopted the BAXâ system to screen for Salmonella in ready-to-eat meat and poultry, and pasteurized egg products. Later this year, FSIS plans to evaluate the BAXâ system for screening samples for E. coli O157:H7.
On October 2, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) released Directive 10,240.4,"Verification Procedures for the Listeria monocytogenes Regulation and Microbial Sampling of Ready-to-Eat (RTE) Products for the FSIS Verification Testing Program." The new Directive provides federal inspectors with guidance material for the enforcement of the interim final rule for Listeria monocytogenes. The interim final rule was issued by FSIS in June in an effort to strengthen controls for Listeria monocytogenes in federally inspected establishments producing ready-to-eat meat and poultry products. Under the interim final rule, establishments will be required to develop a written program for the control of the pathogen, and implement a revised testing protocol to verify the effectiveness of those programs. The effectiveness of the programs to control L. monocytogenes will be verified through independent testing by the establishments, and additional verification activities will be conducted by FSIS inspectors to evaluate each establishment’s Listeria control program. Establishments will be required to share laboratory testing data with FSIS inspectors. Failure to disclose test results could prompt the closing of a facility. Under the rule, establishments will be expected to implement one of the following strategies suggested by FSIS for the control of L. monocytogenes in the final RTE product:
Since publication of the interim final rule on June 6, FSIS has conducted five public workshops to inform small and very small companies of the rule. The rule took effect on October 6, 2003. Click here for The Directive and related documents are available from the FSIS web site.
Silliker Expands GMO Testing Offer with DuPont Qualicon BAX® System Anaheim, CA – June 16, 2002 – Silliker, Inc. and DuPont Qualicon Inc. announced the establishment of a global supplier agreement for Silliker to become the exclusive independent laboratory provider of Qualicon BAX® System PCR Assay for Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). The agreement gives Silliker rights to provide food and feed industry companies with Qualicon’s unparalleled technological expertise for the screening and quantification of GMOs. Exact terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Qualicon’s BAX system is the leading technology for detection of GMO in raw commodities and minimally processed foods like flour and protein concentrate. Starting in July 2002, Silliker will add the BAX PCR for GMO system to its new state-of-the-art GMO laboratories in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Cergy, France, a suburb of Paris, with the potential to offer the tests in other international Silliker labs. The BAX® technology detects:
"For GMO analysis, the BAXâ provides excellent specificity, accuracy and reliability, which is essential to our clients to meet the requirements of international customers and regulatory authorities," said Russell S. Flowers, Ph.D., president and CEO of Silliker, Inc. "It also offers quick turn around time and is very cost effective, which complements our existing GMO Product Solutions support." "We are very pleased to strengthen our relationship with Silliker Laboratories," said Kevin Huttman, president, DuPont Qualicon. "Silliker is highly respected by our customers and the food industry, and this agreement will offer us world-wide reach for our leading technology." Silliker will continue to offer real time PCR GMO testing using an extraction technique licensed from the Danone Group, a leading European food company. Danone’s former biotechnology lab developed the sensitive extraction protocol, which is valued for use on highly processed food products. "The agreement with Qualicon reflects Silliker’s continued investment to provide food and feed companies with leading GMO detection technologies and comprehensive consulting services," Flowers added. "Our labs provide third party verification, which is critical to the international community regarding GMOs." Silliker GMO labs participate recently established Proficiency Testing program by the American Association of Cereal Chemists and the USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyard Administration (GIPSA). In the GIPSA distribution of samples in March, Silliker labs were 100% correct in identifying the presence or absence for all events for which they tested using the Danone extraction protocol. Results are pending for the AACC program. Silliker will also incorporate the Bax GMO system in the next GIPSA proficiency test. For information on Silliker GMO testing services, click here or call 1-708 957-7878 to talk with a technical representative in your area.
For more media information contact: Jessica
Sawyer-Lueck, Silliker Inc.
SILLIKER U.S. Laboratories Gain ISO 17025 Accreditation Status Homewood, IL – June 14, 2002 – The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) has certified each Silliker lab in the U.S. network under ISO 17025. With eleven locations nationwide, Silliker is the first network of laboratories to be accredited under this internationally respected benchmark. ISO 17025 replaced ISO Guide 25 as the recognized international standard for testing laboratories in more than 35 countries. More stringent and specific than Guide 25, ISO 17025 covers every aspect of laboratory management, ranging from sample preparation to analytical testing proficiency to record keeping and reports. Silliker facilities in California, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, and Texas received final A2LA approval in early May. As of June 3, 2002, only eight other independent contract food testing labs in the U.S. were accredited under ISO 17025. The organization’s Markham lab is in the process of being accredited to 17025 by the Standards Council of Canada. "Gaining ISO 17025 accreditation is a reflection of our commitment to maintaining the best laboratory QA programs in the food testing industry," said Dr. Russell S. Flowers, CEO and President of Silliker, Inc. "It also provides our clients with evidence that we have the technical skills and quality systems to provide them with accurate, reliable test results and safeguard their products." Silliker has been setting laboratory quality assurance standards in the food testing industry for the past four decades. Today, its strict internal quality systems serve as the prototype for many performance programs employed industry-wide. For more information contact: John Williams, SILLIKER Inc. 708/ 957 7878
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has awarded Silliker Laboratories a four-year contract to provide analytical testing services to support the agency's "Nutrient Analysis Program." Using AOAC and other industry approved methods, Silliker will provide the ARS with accurate and precise chemistry data on the composition of foods identified as being significant contributors of one or more nutrients of public health significance. The goal of Nutrient Analysis Program is to develop authoritative food composition databases and state-of-the-art methods to acquire, evaluate, compile, and disseminate composition data on foods available in the United States. This information is essential in the calculation of school, hospital, nursing home, and other institutional dietary menus. The Nutrient Data Laboratory, a branch of the ARS Human Nutrition Center in Beltsville, MD, is the administrator of the ambitious research program. Silliker is one of four laboratories contracted by the ARS to participate in the testing program.
For more information contact: John Williams, SILLIKER Inc.
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ACIL Responds to FDA Proposals to Impose Standards on Independent Food Testing Laboratories Under Presidential Initiative on Food Safety WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ - ACIL, the national trade association of independent, scientific testing laboratories, supports the Presidential Initiative on the Safety of Imported Foods and the Food and Drug Administration in their efforts to improve the safety of the U.S. food supply. A report issued on December 11th by the Departments of Treasury and Health and Human Services outlines actions on six initiatives the President has requested the U.S. Customs Service, FDA, and USDA to undertake. One of these initiatives requires the Food and Drug Administration to set standards for private laboratories for the collection and analysis of samples of imported food for the purpose of gaining entry into the United States. "The testing community supports FDA and its plan to initiate a public process aimed at the selection of a single standard for laboratory practices," said Marty Mitchell, Chair of ACIL's Microbiology and Analytical Chemistry Section and Managing Director of Certified Laboratories in Plainview, New York. "Laboratories have found it difficult and confusing to deal with the several splinter laboratory-recognition programs sponsored by USDA and FDA. We look forward to the Government's endorsement of a single, full-fledged accreditation program." The report stipulates that food samples be "properly identified, collected, maintained and analyzed to validated or recognized methods." Although FDA has not specified the standard by which they will assess laboratories and their testing packages, ACIL encourages FDA to utilize ISO/IEC Standard 17025, which is the international standard that establishes the essential requirements for a competent testing laboratory. "As an industry, the food testing community is fully supportive of FDA's review of all stakeholders involved in protecting the nation's food supply. Laboratory professionals believe the most effective and efficient way for FDA to assess the competence of laboratories is through the utilization of ISO/IEC standard 17025," said Dr. Deborah Hockman, Vice Chair of ACIL's Food Committee and Senior Vice President of Operations, Silliker Laboratories in Homewood, Illinois. ACIL, founded in 1937, is the worldwide leader advancing the interests of the testing industry. It represents independent certification and testing firms and suppliers. Members provide testing, certification and related services to U.S. and international companies and governments in such areas as civil engineering, the environment, telecommunications, food and pharmaceuticals, conformity assessment, and failure analysis. For more information on ACIL, see their Web site at www.acil.org. For a copy of ACIL's white paper on accreditation of food testing laboratories, please contact Jennifer Dahl at (202) 887-5872 or e-mail jdahl@acil.org.
SOURCE ACIL
For more information contact: John Williams Jr., SILLIKER Inc. | |
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