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Food labs report false negatives of Campylobacter 9 percent of the time: study
Story Date: 5/22/2013
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Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE, 5/21/13
Food microbiology laboratories continue to submit false negative results and false positive results on a routine basis, according to a study of nearly 40,000 proficiency test results over the past 14 years that was presented Monday at the 113th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Denver.
"There is concern when laboratories report that pathogens are not found in a food sample, when in fact they are there," Christopher Snabes, lead author of the study, said in a news release. "This is known as a 'false negative'. Similar concerns arise when a laboratory reports a 'false positive' suggesting that pathogens are in the food sample, when indeed they are not."
The study found that, on average, food laboratories report false negatives of 9.1 percent for Campylobacter and 4.9 percent for Salmonella. The false positive rate, on average, is 3.9 percent for Salmonella and 2.5 percent for both E. coli and Listeria.
Currently, food laboratories are not required to assess the accuracy or quality of their tests. Laboratories that use proficiency testing (PT) are doing so voluntarily. Proficiency testing is an objective means for measuring laboratory accuracy.
"Improved accuracy in our nation's food laboratories will lead to a safer food supply," Snabes added.
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