NeoSeek: 16S Metagenomics for Food Safety and Quality
December 28, 2017
Neogen’s new NeoSeek™ genomic services utilize a novel application of 16S metagenomics to determine all bacteria in a sample, without introducing biases from culture media or the need to generate a bacterial isolate for each possible microbe in a sample. Comparing multiple sample types, such as raw materials, environmental swabs, and in-process materials provides a unique understanding of all the bacteria that may be present in a food facility — and their sources. Companies can then use the facility’s “biomap” to make any necessary adjustments to their food safety protocols.
Video Transcript
Next generation sequencing can provide information about microorganisms and products and facilities to improve food safety reduce waste and eliminate spoilage.
Neogen offers NeoSeek 16S Metagenomics to provide information previously not available through traditional methods.
NeoSeek 16S Metagenomics is performed at Neogen's state-of-the-art Geneseek's genomics facility in Lincoln, Nebraska. Geneseek is the world's largest animal genomics lab.
Neogen uses the Illumina MiSeq™ platform and a proprietary bioinformatics program that delivers the most accurate bacterial IDs in the market.
The process is surprisingly simple.
For a spoilage investigation customers fill out our sample submission form, collect 20 samples, and send them to our laboratory
A typical submission set includes a control of samples, spoiled samples, and the remaining samples consisting of environmental, in process, or raw materials.
Using advanced statistical analysis NeoSeek 16S Metagenomics determines each organism in the sample and its relative abundance.
This approach, which does not introduce bias from media, provides a list of microorganisms in a sample as compared to a single organism ID provided by traditional isolation methods.
NeoSeeks 16S Metagenomics provides a complete picture of all the microorganisms in a facility not just an isolate.
Available reports present customers with the unique ability to identify spoilage microorganisms and identify locations or raw materials needing remediation.
One of the test's key elements is a histogram which shows each sample on the x-axis and relative abundance on the y-axis. Each color represents a different microorganism in the samples.
Understanding the microbiome of a sample helps identify issues and provides a path to corrective action for food production facilities.
16S Metagenomics provides better insight into spoilage bacteria S47 by demonstrating both the ordination and potential source of spoilage. In this example, we demonstrate Meiothermus as the source and ordinate S4 and S19 as locations adjacent to the S30 location.
This unique ability to identify both spoilage candidates and areas for potential remediation helps your company improve food safety and quality in ways not obtainable through traditional methods.
Additional 16S Metagenomic applications can deliver insights to product reformulation concerns with reduced preservatives, cleaning validation and verification, and other applications.
To begin the process of leveraging next-generation sequencing to help advance the safety and quality of your products, contact your Neogen representative today.
Category: Solution Spotlights, Food & Beverage, Pet Food, Pathogens, Bacterial Sequencing, Environmental Monitoring