USDA approves Neogen’s Reveal® Q+ for Zearalenone

LANSING, Mich., July 12, 2012 — The USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) has verified the performance of another of Neogen’s simple and accurate tests for zearalenone. GIPSA’s approval of Neogen’s Reveal® Q+ for Zearalenone enables the simple, fully quantitative lateral flow strip test to be used for official testing in the national grain inspection system.

After only 6 minutes, Reveal Q+ for Zearalenone delivers precise results ranging from 50 to 1,200 parts per billion (ppb) of zearalenone in corn, or 25 to 1,200 ppb of the mycotoxin in wheat. Reveal Q+ test strips are read in Neogen’s AccuScan® III lateral flow test reader to deliver the precision of more demanding test methods.

“Like our GIPSA-approved Reveal Q+ tests for afl atoxin and DON, Reveal Q+ for Zearalenone is the easiest test available for rapid, fully quantitative test results,” said Neogen’s Bridgett Wynkoop. “GIPSA’s approval verifies the test performs as designed, and allows regulators to add our improved test to the expanding list of Neogen’s products they can rely on to ensure the safety of our worldwide food and feed supply.”

Reveal Q+ for Zearalenone offers both room temperature incubation of the test strip and storage of the test kit — eliminating the need for an incubator and refrigeration space. The test requires only minimal equipment to achieve precise results and uses a simple, low cost ethanol extraction process. Ethanol is the preferred extraction solvent of many major grain handlers.

Neogen’s AccuScan III reader provides an easy method to objectively read, store, and analyze results from Neogen’s line of lateral flow tests. AccuScan provides a permanent result that can be incorporated into a company’s food safety plan, such as HACCP.

Zearalenone primarily is produced by the mold Fusarium graminearum, which also commonly produces deoxynivalenol (DON). Hence, there is evidence that if zearalenone is detected, there is a high probability that other fusarial mycotoxins may be present. Zearalenone is classified as an estrogenic mycotoxin because it frequently causes estrogenic responses in animals.

Neogen Corporation (Nasdaq: NEOG) develops and markets products dedicated to food and animal safety. The company’s Food Safety Division markets dehydrated culture media, and diagnostic test kits to detect foodborne bacteria, natural toxins, food allergens, drug residues, plant diseases and sanitation concerns. Neogen’s Animal Safety Division is a leader in the testing and development of animal genomic models along with the manufacturing and distribution of a variety of animal healthcare products, including diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, veterinary instruments, wound care and disinfectants.