Applied Biosystems Responds to Global Challenge of Food Safety

FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The issue of food safety is increasingly in the news. In the past two months alone, there have been numerous reported outbreaks of Salmonella contamination, including reports of this pathogen in pancake mix, pot pies, raw eggs, sprouts and ahi tuna. This is having an impact on perceptions of the food supply. For instance, a Food Marketing Institute 2007 Survey found that only 66 percent of Americans are confident that the food they buy is safe. As a response to this growing concern, Applied Biosystems (NYSE:ABI), an Applera Corporation business, today announced that it is expanding its presence in the food testing market by providing pathogen detection kits directly to food companies and food testing laboratories.

Among the company’s pathogen-detection solutions is the TaqMan® Salmonella enterica Detection Kit, which is now available to help food companies and food testing organizations monitor the global food supply for Salmonella, which is one of the most prevalent pathogens causing foodborne illness. The chemistry of this particular pathogen detection kit identifies a wide breadth of Salmonella strains to provide surveillance and analysis of food products.

The Applied Biosystems Salmonella detection kit is a real-time PCR-based method that identifies pathogens in food at the molecular level, enabling food companies to quickly and accurately detect contamination. As a result, food companies can take timely action to prevent harmful outbreaks of foodborne illness and avoid costly recalls of food products. With this detection kit, food testing laboratories can obtain results in less than 24 hours. This is significantly faster than alternative methods, which can take up to five days. Results are obtained through a software-guided assay process that simplifies the use of this advanced genetic-based technology.

The Applied Biosystems Salmonella detection kit is certified by the AOAC Research Institute and the AFAQ AFNOR Certification board. These are two of the most prominent food industry standard certification organizations for validating products used for food safety testing in North America and Europe. This kit earned the Performance Tested Methods^SM certification from the AOAC Research Institute and earned the ISO-compliant AFNOR VALIDATION (ISO 16140) distinction from AFAQ AFNOR.

“Food companies and testing organizations have a tremendous responsibility to help safeguard public health as it relates to the food supply,” said Dr. Sharon Brunelle, technical consultant, AOAC Research Institute. “As a result, these organizations have stringent requirements for the tools and methods they use to analyze food for potential contamination. Applied Biosystems has demonstrated that the TaqMan Salmonella enterica Detection Kit performs as well or better than the ISO reference method in the Performance Tested Methods certification process.”

Applied Biosystems’ newly certified Salmonella kit is optimized for use with the company’s industry-leading real-time PCR instrument systems. Real-time PCR is a laboratory method widely used in academic and industry laboratories to simultaneously detect and determine the amount of nucleic acids present in samples. The company offers one of the most comprehensive lines of real-time PCR chemistries and instrument systems.

Applied Biosystems is a global leader in the development and commercialization of instrument-based systems, consumables, software and services for the life science market. The company has been providing automated, genetic-based pathogen detection systems and kits through third-party channels to the food industry for more than two years. In addition, Applied Biosystems offers kits to identify other pathogens, including E.coli O157:H7, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus, E.sakazakii, Pseudomonas and Listeria. To identify harmful chemicals, Applied Biosystems offers Cliquid™ Software for Food Testing, which is based on industry-leading Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX mass spectrometry technology. Cliquid Software is the first automated application for detection of food contaminants, such as pesticides, dyes and mold-related toxins.

“Increasing food safety has become a higher priority globally with government calling for stricter inspections and industry seeking more accurate and faster detection,” said Robert Barrett, vice president for Applied Biosystems’ applied markets division. “These inspections are only as good as the tools used to inspect the food for contamination. Applied Biosystems is committed to putting more powerful pathogen detection capabilities directly into the laboratories of food processors to ensure the food our families eat is safe.”

For more information about the Salmonella detection kit and other Applied Biosystems food testing products, please visit http://info.appliedbiosystems.com/pathogenkits.

About Applera Corporation and Applied Biosystems

Applera Corporation consists of two operating groups. Applied Biosystems serves the life science industry and research community by developing and marketing instrument-based systems, consumables, software, and services. Customers use these tools to analyze nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), small molecules, and proteins to make scientific discoveries and develop new pharmaceuticals. Applied Biosystems’ products also serve the needs of some markets outside of life science research, which we refer to as “applied markets,” such as the fields of: human identity testing (forensic and paternity testing); biosecurity, which refers to products needed in response to the threat of biological terrorism and other malicious, accidental, and natural biological dangers; and quality and safety testing, such as testing required for food and pharmaceutical manufacturing. Applied Biosystems is headquartered in Foster City, CA, and reported sales of approximately $2.1 billion during fiscal 2007. The Celera Group is a diagnostics business delivering personalized disease management through a combination of products and services incorporating proprietary discoveries. Berkeley HeartLab, a subsidiary of Celera, offers services to predict cardiovascular disease risk and optimize patient management. Celera also commercializes a wide range of molecular diagnostic products through its strategic alliance with Abbott and has licensed other relevant diagnostic technologies developed to provide personalized disease management in cancer and liver diseases. Information about Applera Corporation, including reports and other information filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is available at http://www.applera.com, or by telephoning 800.762.6923. Information about Applied Biosystems is available at http://www.appliedbiosystems.com. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Applera does not undertake any duty to update this information unless required by law.

Applied Biosystems Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking. These may be identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases such as “should,” “expect,” and “planned,” among others. These forward-looking statements are based on Applera Corporation’s current expectations. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a “safe harbor” for such forward-looking statements. In order to comply with the terms of the safe harbor, Applera Corporation notes that a variety of factors could cause actual results and experience to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors include but are not limited to: (1) rapidly changing technology and dependence on the development and customer acceptance of new products; (2) sales dependent on customers’ spending policies; and (3) other factors that might be described from time to time in Applera Corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Applera does not undertake any duty to update this information, including any forward-looking statements, unless required by law.

© Copyright 2008. Applied Biosystems, AB (Design), Applera and Celera are registered trademarks and Cliquid is a trademark of Applera Corporation or its subsidiaries in the US and/or certain other countries. TaqMan is a registered trademark of Roche Molecular Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.