After an evaluation of commercially available pathogen screening technologies, bioMérieux's GENE-UP® Pathogenic Escherichia coli assay (PEC) has been selected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (USDA’s FSIS’) Field Service Laboratories as the primary method for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) detection.

FSIS will use the bioMérieux GENE-UP® PEC platform to screen enriched samples received on or after September 16, 2024 for the adulterant STEC. The screening method adds efficiency by employing a novel molecular diagnostic target to rapidly identify samples containing STEC.