PRESS RELEASE

FOOD ANALYTICAL LABORATORIES SWITCHES TO PATHATRIX SYSTEM FOR E.COLI 0157 TESTING

Having successfully completed comprehensive Validation studies and gained UKAS accreditation Food Analytical Laboratories (FAL) are now utilising Pathatrix for E. coli O157 testing for selected customers.

Designed for the rapid detection and positive identification of microbiological food contaminants, PATHATRIX recently received AOAC R1 Validation after an extensive evaluation process and is widely used by regulatory, multinational food companies and contract laboratories in many countries across the world.

On behalf of its customers, FAL conducts in excess of 40,000 E. coli O157 per annum at its state of the art laboratories, FAL will utilise the PATHATRIX system to complement its existing test methods and to increase throughput and speed to result. This new rapid test will provide FAL's customers with a greater choice of analysis and is part of FAL's drive towards continuous service improvements for its customers.

FAL's food testing service covers a broad spectrum of food types including fresh meats, vegetables, salad, sandwiches and ready meals and encompasses all stages of the food manufacturing processes. Stephen Harris, CEO of FAL commented, "We conducted extensive trials using the PATHATRIX system on a variety of meat and other products and found it to be a significant improvement of the existing method. The PATHATRIX E.coli O157 test is extremely simple to perform, requires minimal hands-on time and provides results in under 48 hours. I am confident that our customers will appreciate this new method. This part of our continuing commitment to 'Investing in Testing' and 'Safe Food Fast' "

Dr. Adrian Parton, CEO of Matrix MicroScience added, "We are delighted that FAL is utilising PATHATRIX for its E.coli O157 testing as it is one of the largest food and testing laboratories in the UK, with a reputation for service excellence and reliability. The PATHATRIX -AUTO system is now experiencing a phenomenal amount of international interest from major retail chains, contract laboratories, food manufacturers and regulators in the UK and internationally."

Background Notes for Editors

1. PATHATRIX® AUTO The PATHATRIX® AUTO system requires less than one minute hands-on time per test and utilises a proven technology, which can be adopted in any microbiology laboratory, with the minimum of retraining. Viable cultures are produced during the test allowing full and detailed analysis of any positive results.

PATHATRIX® is unique in that it is the only microbial detection system that can analyse large volumes of sample, by re-circulating the sample through a "capture phase" where the antibody coated magnetic beads are immobilised.

A standard 25-375g food sample is homogenised with 225-1000ml of growth media in a stomacher and incubated (4 -18hours). Post pre-enrichment PATHATRIX® capture reagent, which consists of antibody coated magnetic particles specific to the target pathogen, are then added to the sample. The sample is loaded onto the PATHATRIX® cartridge using a Matrix proprietary consumable pack, then the cartridge is inserted into the PATHATRIX® system and the process is started by the touch of a button.

Once loaded, the PATHATRIX® workstation is typically pre-programmed to run for 15 minutes..

The sample can now be plated directly onto selective media and incubated overnight for visualization the following morning or be directly analyzed by PCR, ELISA or Lateral Flow for a very rapid result.

There are a variety of PATHATRIX® tests that enable results to be obtained within as little as 5hrs to 24hrs from point of sample to result.

2. PATHATRIX® Pooling

PATHATRIX® pooling involves taking 10ml sub-samples from 5 individual samples, pooling them to create a 50ml pooled sample which can then be analyzed by a single PATHATRIX® run (see figure below). If the sample is "positive" the original individual samples can be re-tested separately by PATHATRIX® to determine which sample(s) is/are positive. However if the wet composite sample is shown to be negative no further analysis of the 5 original samples is required. Thus the PATHATRIX® pooling approach can be used as a rapid and cost effective screen for all samples. The Pooling strategy can be employed up to a maximum of 10 samples.

Explanation of Pathatrix Pooling Strategy